Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne - The Black Mozart: le Chevalier de Saint-Georges

The Black Mozart

Le Chevalier De Saint-Georges

By

Walter E. Smith

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Published by AuthorHouse 05/03/2016

ISBN: 978-1-4184-0796-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4184-0795-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2004092205

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Table of Contents

Several years ago, I was working in New York city as a teacher in an after school program to develop a Black Studies Program, when I came upon a book entitled, "Africa's Gift to America," Volume II. It was written by J.A. Rogers. Among the many characters in this well documented book was a brief biography of Joseph Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges. I had never heard of this man. I read with great interest and surprise about this unbelievable character. I could not believe that a man could have been this talented and famous during his life-time and be so unknown today. I was so surprised and fascinated with this character that I decided to do some research. Fortunately, at the end of this book was a bibliography. Reading about Saint-Georges reminded me that I had graduated from college with a degree in French and did not know at that time that Alexandre Dumas was black. Even after graduate school, I still had not heard of him. I was twenty five years old when I found out that Alexandre Pushkin, Russia's greatest poet and considered the father of Russian literature was of black ancestry. So, it was possible to be educated and not be aware of many important facts about historical figures.

The more I discovered about Saint-Georges, the more I wanted to know. Saint-Georges was an extraordinary man living during a fascinating period in French History, 1789 to 1799, the period of The French Revolution. The fact that he was a mulatto made him even more interesting. France, at this time, had many colonies of slaves from Africa in the Caribbean Islands where he was born.

When Saint-Georges was born on the island of Guadeloupe in 1739, from a union of a wealthy white Frenchman and a slave woman called "La belle Nanon", Louis XV was the King of France; George III was the King of England, and the United States was still a colony. Saint-Georges lived before and during the French Revolution. He grew up during the Enlightenment period and the Age of Reason, a time when the intellectuals were questioning Royalty and the idea of a democratic society. His contemporaries were Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Montesquieu and John Locke, some of the philosophers who criticized French society and advocated expanding more individual freedoms.

Saint-Georges was a great fencer, a composer, conductor, virtuoso, an artful equestrian, an exceptional marksman, an elegant dancer, an accomplished man of his time and one of the most important musicians in France, from 1765 until 1789. He was imitated for his style of dress and copied as a fencer. There was even a book on fencing, by Henry Angelo, who ran a famous academy in London, which used Saint-Georges as a model. He walked among Royalty, and was acquainted with many of the great men of his day, including the Duke of Orlans, the cousin of King Louis XV and the Prince of Wales, later, King George IV.

He served France as a colonel in the army during the French Revolution and made contributions that history assigned to others. Serving under him was a lieutenant colonel, Alexandre Dumas, who later became a general under Napoleon and the father of Dumas, pre, the author of The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and many other great works. He fought many duels, and because he was so great with the foil and so gentle as a man, he never killed anyone. He was known as a kind, gentle and generous man. His generosity was illustrated by supporting several poor families. He was mentioned in several "Mmoires"of famous men of his day. He was invited to their estates, rode and hunted with them and shared with them his love of music.

He was famous in Paris and constantly discussed by the Bourgeoisie. He conducted and performed in many concerts. He is the only man I know of with such a great resume, who is not in our contemporary history books. Today, there are web sites, records, CD's, a few books, and several biographical essays written about him. To most of you, I hurry to introduce an extraordinary man, Joseph Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges!

An elegant carriage with two regal black horses glides on cobblestone streets in Paris, approaching a building that resembles a palace. The year is 1752. The keeper opens the gate, allowing the carriage to enter. The driver climbs down quickly and opens the carriage door. A tall, handsome, apparently wealthy man disembarks first, then he helps a young, bright-eyed, handsome boy down from the carriage. The gatekeeper gasps, then quickly looks away. The wooden door opens and they enter.

"Welcome," says a proper, middle-aged man who has the air of being in charge. He is Monsieur La Boissire and this is his school, one of the most famous fencing schools for boys in all of France and one of the most difficult to gain admittance.

"You must be Monsieur Bologne?"

"Yes, and this is my son, Joseph Bologne Saint Georges."

Monsieur Boissire, although shocked, recovers quickly and manages very well to mask these feelings, as a man of his position and class often must. He invites M. Bologne into his larger, elegant office.

"You must realize that this is a little unusual," he says. M. Bologne, looking straight into M. La Boissire's eyes, replies, "This is my thirteen year-old son who has been accepted into your school. I trust that he will acquire the fine education of which your school is famous. If you have any questions that you would like to ask me, please do so, for I must leave immediately. Urgent business awaits me." M. La Boissire certainly has questions but dares not ask. He has never faced this particular type of situation before, so he simply declines to voice his concerns. M. Bologne kisses little St. Georges on his beautiful brown, mulatto cheek and quietly departs.

M. La Boissire takes St. Georges to the courtyard and introduces him to a large group of boys. They all stare unabashedly. Some of them have servants from the French colonies and they understand, although they are surprised to see one of them here. Others have never seen a person of color. After they regain their composure, some of the boys are resentful and walk away; others approach slowly to greet St.-Georges. One of them, Lamotte, who is very short, admires how tall and strong St.-Georges appears and sees the friendliness in his eyes. Lamotte introduces himself to St.-Georges and offers to show him around.

The following day, St.-Georges begins classes with the rest of the boys. The first class is French literature. St.-Georges does well, due to his prior instruction at home. He goes from literature to science, to music, language, and dance. St.-Georges had shown a talent for the violin at an early age, so he chooses to continue. At the end of these classes, all the boys assemble in the arms room to practice fencing. La Boissire's school is famous throughout France for its fencing program. La Boissire's pre will later become the Master of Arms of the Academy of the King, Louis XV.