Violinist, composer, conductor, impresario, swordsman, duelist, cavalry commander, royal bodyguard, revolutionary… le Mozart Noir.
All of the above describes one of the most amazing characters in history… let alone music history… that you may never have heard of. Joseph Bologne, chevalier de Saint-Georges was born in the French-held Caribbean archipelago of Guadeloupe, son of a married French businessman and his Senegalese slave. Sent off to school in France at age seven, and to fencing academy at 13, he studied… and quickly mastered… the science of fencing and the art of the violin. By 20 he was a chevalier… a member of Louis XVI’s bodyguard… and famed composers had written for or dedicated works to him.
Famed as a fencer throughout Europe… he would use that as a diplomatic skill with the likes of the Prince of Wales to argue for the abolition of slavery… he was also renowned in France for his musical skills as a composer: writing quartets, operas, symphonies, and a dozen violin concertos; as a virtuoso; and as a conductor, organizing orchestras and commissioning Haydn’s Paris symphonies.
Beloved by the monarchy, he was a favorite of (and played private duets with) queen Marie-Antoinette. Nevertheless, he was also a hero of the Revolution, commanding the first all-black regiment in Europe, the Legion St.-Georges. He partook in perhaps one last revolutionary adventure (accounts differ) to Haiti, before re-devoting himself to perfecting his artistry on the violin.
Joseph Bologne… Chevalier de Saint-Georges… and classically black.
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