However, alarmed by his reputation as a taskmaster, three of its leading ladies “… presented a placet (petition) to the Queen assuring her Majesty that their honor and delicate conscience could never allow them to submit to the orders of a mulatto.” To keep the affair from embarrassing the queen, Saint-Georges promptly withdrew his name from the proposal. As creator of the first disciplined French orchestra since Lully, he was the obvious choice to rescue the prestige of that troubled institution. Saint Georges was proposed as the next director of the opera. In 1776 the Académie royale de musique, the ( Paris Opéra), was once again in dire straits. While their fast movements reveal the composer probing the outer limits of his instrument, his slow movements are lyrical and expressive, with an occasional touch of Creole nostalgia. Their corner movements are replete with daring batteries and bariolages, brilliant technical effects made possible by the new bow designed by Nicholas Pierre Tourte Père – a perfect foil in the hands of a great swordsman. “Dressed in rich velvet or damask with gold or silver braid and fine lace on their cuffs and collars and with their parade swords and plumed hats placed next to them on their benches, the combined effect was as pleasing to the eye as it was flattering to the ear.” Saint-Georges played all his violin concertos as soloist with his orchestra.
Less than two years under his direction, “Performing with great precision and delicate nuances became the best orchestra for symphonies in Paris, and perhaps in all of Europe.” As the Queen attended some of Saint-Georges’ concerts at the Palais de Soubise, arriving sometimes without notice, the orchestra wore court attire for all its performances. In 1773, when Gossec took over the direction of the prestigious but troubled Concert Spirituel, he designated Saint-Georges as his successor as director of the Concert des Amateurs.
Today the Chevalier de Saint-Georges is best remembered as the first classical composer of African ancestry.Ī/video/le-mozart-noir-reviving-legend The official language is French, and virtually the entire population except recent arrivals from metropolitan France also speaks Antillean Creole ( Créole Guadeloupéen).ĭuring the French Revolution, Saint-Georges was colonel of the Légion St.-Georges, the first all-black regiment in Europe, fighting on the side of the Republic. The prefecture (regional capital) of Guadeloupe is the city of Basse-Terre, which lies on the island of the same name. It is thus part of the European Union and the Eurozone, and its currency is the euro. As an overseas department, Guadeloupe is not part of the Schengen Area. Guadeloupe, like the other overseas departments, is an integral part of France. – /concert-calendar/events/le-mozart-noirīorn in Guadeloupe, he was the son of George Bologne de Saint-Georges, a wealthy planter, and Nanon, his African slave. As if that weren’t enough, Saint-Georges was also France’s finest fencer, a famed lover, and a General who led an army of 1000 black soldiers in the French Revolution – unprecedented in European history. His musical compositions inspired Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. Before Prince there was Le Mozart Noir / Joseph Boulogne, Le Chevalier Saint Georges portrays the remarkable life of a man who overcame the adversities of class, race and society to become a international superstar in 18th century France whose work has fallen into neglect due to the prejudices of history.
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