Hyacinthe Jadin

Who was Hyacinthe Jadin?

Hyacinthe Jadin was a French composer who came from a distinguished musical family. His uncle Georges Jadin was a composer in Versailles and Paris, along with his father Jean Jadin, who had also played bassoon for the French Royal Orchestra. He was one of five musically gifted brothers, the most famous of which was Louis-Emmanuel Jadin.

Jadin was a pupil of Nicolas Joseph Hüllmandel, who belonged to the famous École des Pianistes Parisiens. Hüllmandel himself was a student of C.P.E. Bach, and was an excellent teacher who brought out Jadin's pianistic brilliance. At the age of 9, Jadin’s first composition, a Rondo for piano, was published in the Journal de Clavecin. By the age of thirteen, Jadin had premiered his first work with the Concert Spirituel.

The times in which Jadin lived dictated to a large degree his chance at musical greatness. In 1789, the same year of his public performance premiere, the French Revolution broke out. The Revolution provided some work for Jadin, as the demand for theatre and music that reflected the values of the Revolution increased.

He took a job in 1792 as assistant rehearsal pianist at the Theatre Feydeau. In this year he composed the Marche du siège de Lille, commemorating the successful resistance of the citizens of Lille when besieged by Austrian forces, a highly publicised event at the time.