Chevalier de saint georges biography

Calling it Guillome tout Coeur, ou les amis du villagehe dedicated it to the citizens of Lille. The music by Saint-George is full of sweet warmth of motion and spirit Its [individual] pieces are distinguished by their melodic lines and the vigor of their harmony. The public He participated in local events and took charge of the music. Georges and Lamothe were waiting for me, committed to giving some concerts over the Easter holidays.

We were to repeat them in Tournai in June. Georges was even advised [by its commandant] not to stop there for long. Georges, a citizen of France, was also staying, refused to serve him, but he remained perfectly calm; remarkable for a man with his means to defend himself. Fusil describes the scenario of Saint-Georges' "Love and Death of the Poor Little Bird," a programmatic piece for violin alone, which he was constantly entreated to play, especially by the ladies.

Its three parts depicted the little bird greeting the spring; passionately pursuing the object of his love, who alas, has chosen another; its voice grows weaker then, after the last sigh, it is stilled forever. This kind of program music or sound painting of scenarios such as love scenes, tempests, or battles complete with cannonades and the cries of the wounded, conveyed by a lone violin, was by that time nearly forgotten.

Fusil places his improvisational style on a par with her subsequent musical idol, Hector Berlioz : "We did not know then this expressive Berlioz later revealed to us On 22 May the right to declare war was given to the national assembly, St. Georges decided to serve the Revolution as a citizen-soldier. Georges from giving concerts. Once again he was building an orchestra which, according to the announcement in the paper, "Will give a concert every week until Easter.

Georges' brow and read a poem dedicated to him. Leopold IIsensible brother of the Marie Antoinette, became increasingly concerned although he still hoped to avoid war.

Chevalier de saint georges biography: Joseph Bologne Chevalier de

With 50, Austrian troops massed on its borders, the first citizen's army in modern history was calling for volunteers. Saint-Georges was appointed captain and colonel in the following year. General Dilloncommander of Lille, was ordered to attack Tournaireportedly only lightly defended. Instead, massive fire by the Austrian artillery turned an orderly retreat into a rout by the regular cavalry but not that of the volunteers of the National Guard.

Georges commanded the company of volunteers that held the line at Baisieux near the Belgian border. On 7 September Julien Raimondleader of a delegation of free men of color from Saint-Domingue Haitipetitioned the National Assembly to authorize the formation of a military legion of volunteers. They were escorted by Saint-Georges, who immediately drove back.

Because of a ceasefire no troops were allowed to cross the border. On 29 September he was arrested without specific charges, according to Banat. On 3 MaySaint-Georges tried to join and signed his petition "George". Since the beginning of the war, I have been serving with relentless enthusiasm, but the persecution I suffered has not diminished.

I have no other resources, only to restore my original position. One of the decisions of Napoleon as First Consul for life was the re-establishment of slavery Law of 20 May revoking the Law of 4 February which had abolished slavery in all the French colonies. Some biographers claim that St. Georges would have stayed in Saint-Domingue where he would have met with Toussaint Louverture.

However, the stay of Saint-Georges in Saint-Domingue, after his imprisonment, is uncertain. A newspaper mentioned that on request of Martinique Saint-Georges arrived there with 15, rifles in early December It stands to reason that Julien Raimond would want to take St. Georges, an experienced officer, with him to Saint-Domingue, then in a civil war.

While we lack concrete evidence that St. Georges was aboard the convoy of the commission, the fact that we find Captain Colin, and Lamotte Lamothe on the payroll of a ship of the convoy to Saint-Domingue, confirms Louise Fusil's account. It seems unlikely that St. Historians have found to this day no trace of St. Georges in the press of the time, or in the archives of the manifests of ships bound for French ports for Saint-Domingue or making trips back in France.

This leads us to think that after his ouster of the armies of the Revolution, Saint-Georges would not have left Europe. On 16 Decemberhis mother died, and on 29 Marchhe signed as the executor of her will. On 19 April he and Lamothe, the horn player, gave a concert, for the impoverished Carl Stamitz. Georges was again building a symphony orchestra.

Like his last ensemble, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie was also part of a Masonic lodge performing in what was formerly the Palais Royal. The founders of the new Logea group of nouveau riche gentlemen bent on re-creating the elegance of the old Loge Olympiquewere delighted to find St. Georges back in Paris. More concerts took place in July and August According to a number of his biographers, at the end of his life, St.

Georges lived in abject poverty, but the Cercle did not chevalier de saint georges biography like the lower depths. Rejected by the army, St. Georges appealed again saying "I have no other resources" but was still rejected. Instead, at the age of 51, he found solace in his music. Sounding like any veteran performer proud of his longevity, [ neutrality is disputed ] he said: "Towards the end of my life, I was particularly devoted to my violin," adding: "never before did I play it so well!

Saint-Georges died aged 53 in June His death certificate was lost in when the city archives were destroyed; what remains is a report by the men who removed his body on the next day. This year died, twenty-four days apart, two extraordinary but very different men, Beaumarchais and Saint-Georges; both Masters at sparring; the one who could be touched by a foil was not the one who was more enviable for his virtues.

In he lived atRue Notre-Dame, Lille. Saint-Georges, influenced by the prevailing sentimental style wrote twelve violin concertos, two symphonies, and eight symphony-concertantesa new, intrinsically Parisian genre of which he was one of the chief exponents. He wrote his instrumental works over a short span of time, and they were published between and Saint-Georges wrote two more sets of six string quartets, three forte-piano and violin sonatas, a sonata for harp and flute, six violin duets, [ ] a rondeau for two violins, an adagio in F-minor for pianoa harpsichord quartet.

The music for three other known compositions is lost: a cello sonata, performed in Lille ina concerto for clarinet, and one for bassoon. Inwhile paying a visit to his uncle Samuel de Bologne, George became involved in a scuffle with a fellow guest. Le Vanier St-Robert was wounded on the nose but was able to return home unaided. Three days later he died, probably of infection rather than from the wound itself, and Saint-Georges found himself accused of murder.

The hanging was carried out in effigy on 25 October A note appended to his dossier tells us that Bologne de Saint-Georges was subsequently pardoned — the date is not recorded — but it must have been before when he is known to have been back in Basse-Terre. Domingue Haiti although no documentation has been found to confirm this. What is certain, however, is that Joseph was born while his father was in exile.

The different date ofthe year generally quoted, is based on his death certificate.

Chevalier de saint georges biography: Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George was

Nothing is known of his mother beyond the fact that she was a beautiful young slave of Senegalese origin who was given the name Nanon. It reflects well on the character of George that he took Nanon along with Joseph when he and his legal wife returned in to live in France. The domestic situation of George Bologne de Saint-Georges seems to have been unconventional, to say the least.

Whatever the relationship he enjoyed with his legal wife it seems odd given the rigid social etiquette of the class to which he belonged that George should have brought his illegitimate son and his slave mistress to France at the same time as his wife. That such an act was grounded in affection for the boy — and possibly his mother — is borne out by later developments.

It is likely that Joseph gave signs of his precocious gifts at a very early age, even before the family returned to France. Knowing that in the colonies this remarkable boy would be condemned to a life of humiliation and casual brutality his father opted to bring him to France where he would have greater opportunities and suffer less overt prejudice.

Of one thing we can be quite certain. Doubtless, George hired private tutors to prepare him for entry to a regular educational institution and to ensure that he would be able to mix with ease with members of the aristocratic class to which he belonged. The morning was devoted to his education and the rest of the day was spent in the exercise hall.

At the age of fifteen, he had made such rapid progress that he could beat the strongest fencers. By seventeen he had developed superlative speed. The acquisition of experience set him beyond compare. Saint-Georges had reached the height of five feet six inches, was well built and endowed with great physical strength. He was quick, supple and slim and had astonishing agility.

No one else under instruction showed as much gracefulness and discipline. His stance was superb and with his hand held high, he could always exploit the faults of his opponent. His left foot was firm and never wandered, and his right leg stayed absolutely straight. The appointment was withdrawn, leaving Saint-George in financial straits.

Saint-George continued his musical pursuits, composing and conducting, while facing financial difficulties. He joined the Masonic lodge's orchestra, founded by the Duke of Orleans, and engaged in paid fencing matches to supplement his income. He played a role in defending Lille from Austrian forces and suppressing the Haitian rebellion. InSaint-George was imprisoned following a false accusation.

He was released several months later, but his military career was cut short. He returned to music, but his career was interrupted by his untimely death in A champion fencer as a young man, he was the object of often veiled and sometimes overt racial controversy. He survived two assassination attempts.

Chevalier de saint georges biography: Composer Bio Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de

In his later years he abandoned the aristocratic world of his upbringing to fight for revolutionary ideals, and he was an early supporter of racial equality in France and England. His last name has sometimes been spelled "Saint-Georges," but his father generally dropped the final "s," and a street named after the younger Saint-George in Paris also omits it.

He was married and had a legitimate daughter, but he also had a slave mistress, likely born in Senegal, named Nanon and said to be exceptionally beautiful. It was unorthodox for George de Bologne Saint-George to acknowledge this interracial infidelity, and more unusual still when he took not only his wife but his mistress and illegitimate son with him to France infleeing a court conviction for killing a man in a duel.

Joseph Boulogne, as a man who was half black, was barred from French noble status but did enjoy his father's support and patronage. Besides fencing and swordsmanship, his studies included literature, the sciences, and horseback riding. The teacher became the first of several observers to write admiringly of Saint-George's prowess with the sword.

Saint-George was tall, handsome, and gracious, and he quickly found his way into the halls of the French aristocracy. In a fencer named Picard insulted Saint-George and challenged him to a duel. Saint-George at first refused, but his father promised him a new carriage if he fought and won. At the duel in the city of Rouen, Saint-George quickly emerged the victor.

He suffered his first defeat the following year at the hands of the famed Italian fencer Giuseppe Gianfaldoni, who praised Saint-George and said that he would soon be the best fencer on the European continent. In music, too, Saint-George was a standout student. Several of France's leading composers had benefited from the elder Saint-George's patronage in the past, and young Saint-George benefited from their musical attentions.

He is thought to have studied the violin with one of the great French virtuosi, Jean-Marie Leclair the Elder, and he mastered the harpsichord an ancestor of the piano as well. In Saint-George joined an orchestra called Le Concert des Amateurs, directed by Gossec, as first violinist, and inwhen Gossec moved on to a different conducting post, Saint-George became the group's director.

Even as he notched these successes, Saint-George's status in French society was an ambivalent one.

Chevalier de saint georges biography: Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de

Religious leaders were agitating for the end of slavery, and King Louis XVI himself was opposed to the practice. But interracial marriages were forbidden Saint-George was never able to marryand belief in the genetic inferiority of Africans was widespread. As word of his athletic and musical exploits spread, Saint-George became famous. Word even reached America of how he could swim across the Seine River using only one arm or shoot at and hit a coin thrown into the air, and he was something of a fashion trendsetter as well.

But there was always an undercurrent of racial controversy surrounding his reputation. Saint-George had powerful backers who appreciated his talents, including Queen Marie Antoinette to whom he was unusually close. Nevertheless, Saint-George was a major star in Paris in the s. By he had written several violin concertos works for violin and orchestra for his own use as a performer; lyrical pieces of ambitious dimensions, they reentered the classical concert repertoire at the end of the twentieth century.