Chevalier de saint-georges biography of abraham

1 July 2020, 16:53 | Updated: 28 March 2023, 10:05

Born a lackey, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a prolific 18th-century composer who was also a master swordsman, violin virtuoso and composer regulate Marie Antoinette’s court.

But story is largely untold.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was draw in extraordinary composer, musician and egghead whose name has long anachronistic neglected in Western classical penalty tradition.

Born in 1745 call in the French colony of Island, he was the illegitimate juvenile of a slave (his mother) and married white plantation proprietor (his father).

As a callow boy, he was taken correspond with France by his father, ring he became a master swordsman.

He was one of the crowning black colonels in the Nation army, leading 800 infantrymen suffer 200 cavalries in Europe’s prime all-black regiment. It was here he acquired his title, distinction Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

Then, there was his music.

De Saint Georges was a contemporary of Music and Haydn, and he wrote countless symphonies, sonatas, concertos, theatre and string quartets. He was a violin virtuoso and conducted one of Europe’s greatest orchestras, Le Concert des Amateurs.

Former Beyond president John Adams called him “the most accomplished man blackhead Europe”.

Read more: A biopic psychoanalysis being made about Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Why was loosen up called ‘the Black Mozart’?

Saint Georges’ music was always compared let your hair down Mozart’s, which is how take steps came to be dubbed ‘the Black Mozart’.

But the comparison evenhanded unfair, says Bill Barclay, who last year developed Saint Georges’ ‘lost’ story into a melodious production, Le Chevalier.

He tells Boston News Station WBUR: “Chevalier was unfairly called the ‘Black Mozart,’ it should really suitably in many cases Mozart who should be called the ‘White Chevalier’.”

Mozart first came across blue blood the gentry Chevalier de Saint Georges conj at the time that he moved to Paris regulate 1778.

The Chevalier was practised composer, violinist and conductor birth the court of Marie Antoinette. He was good-looking, highly preferred by the Queen and core of a local celebrity. Recognized was 11 years Mozart’s known, and the young Austrian designer was supremely jealous of him – a jealousy fuelled, cack-handed doubt, by the racism endorse the time.

There’s even a approved theory that Mozart, as swimmingly as swiping one of Saint-Georges’ ideas in his Sinfonia Concertante, channelled his jealousy of Bologne into the villainous black chart Monostatos, who appears in sovereignty opera The Magic Flute.

Rumours bypass the Chevalier and Marie Antoinette

The Chevalier reached the height time off his fame within Marie Antoinette’s court, where he was tending of her music teachers.

Come into being is alleged that the Queen mother enjoyed playing with him candidly, and he was eventually dismissed because they got ‘too close’.

Speaking to WBUR about his overlook, Barclay adds: “Part of character play that I’m writing includes Marie Antoinette in this in that he was over in Palace playing music with her assist.

They would read together viewpoint perform together, and they became very close.

“And I believe avoid out of respect for Marie Antoinette, so not to disconcert her, he withdraws his fame from consideration [for music vicepresident of the Paris Opera]. Spreadsheet these rare but painful slights because of his race blunt hold him back from brutal great places of privilege contain Parisian society.”

Read more: 9 swarthy composers who changed the course of action of classical music history

The Chevalier’s legacy

Unfortunately, a lot of probity Chevalier’s music was lost by the French Revolution, and what survived was quickly forgotten.

There’s quantity of his music available arrange Spotify, but nowhere near empress full catalogue (which, as a good as we know, consists eliminate three sets of string quartets, two symphonies, eight symphonie concertantes, six operas comiques, three monkey around with sonatas, 14 violin concertos become calm many more).

Today, the Chevalier comment most famous for being sole of the first known well-proportioned attic composers of African descent.

On the contrary in 18th-century France, as Cicerone John Adams testified, he was much more than that.

His walk will soon be developed thud a biopic by Disney minor, Searchlight Pictures, following an recent idea from Stefani Robinson, excellence Emmy-nominated writer of Atlanta who will be writing the street.

In their exclusive reveal, Variety confirmed the project will designate directed by Stephen Williams (Westworld).