I became acquainted with the music of Reynaldo Hahn through Hyperion's previous issue of exquisite songs and must also say that his style touched my heart immediately. This fine selection of chamber music is no less invigorating and is permeated with an indelible nostalgia that lingers throughout all the works.
The Sonata is an exquisite peace full of meandering and haunting beauty with the markings entirely appropriate for the music on offer. Room Music gives what can be said to be a definitive interpretation all around with a particularly fine 'Modere', keeping the pulse of the music throbbing very well indeed.
Three short pieces then follow in succession, 'Soliloque et Forlane', a Nocturne and a Romance. Each is imbued with the distinctive Hahn style and the combination of Charles Sewart, Yuko Inoue and Stephen Coombs is most inspired. I also greatly enjoyed the 1946 Piano Quartet which I feel is the highlight of the disc with its throwback to a vanished age. The concluding song is also very apt, taking us back to 1888. I have nothing but praise for this project which most definitely does a great deal for the re-establishment of Hahn's reputation.
Copyright © 2004, Gerald Fenech