The Chevalier De Saint-George Violinist

Abstract

and romantic personage, one who seems made I to tempt the pen of a Lenotre, was born at Basse-Terre (Guadaloupe), December 25, 1745, the son of a comptrollergeneral, M. de Boulogne, and a negress. He was given the Christian name of Joseph Boulogne Saint-George. Is this the origin of the surname "Saint-George" under which he became famous? No historical document exists which might authenticate the fact; but M. Roger de Beauvoir, who has written a lengthy novel 1 with Saint-George for its hero, one filled with detail which is not altogether inaccurate, furnishes a quite reasonable explanation of the origin of the name. "This name, Saint-George," he writes, "was not given the young mulatto as a mere matter of choice of name, as is so often tie case in the colonies. The handsomest vessel in the harbor of Guadaloupe, at the time the child was born, served him in the stead of a godfather." Brought to France by his father when he was very young, Saint-George soon gave proof of the extraordinary ease with which he learned. Placed in lodgings with the famous fencingmaster La Boissiere, he rapidly became a redoubtable fencer, and showed remarkable endowment for all forms of bodily exercise. The little mulatto's petulance, says Angelo, and his extraordinary vivacity greatly entertained M. de Boulogne, who said that instead of a man he had engendered a sparrow. 1 Before long La Boessiere's pupil had acquired great superiority, not alone in the handling of the foils, but as a marksman, skater, equestrian and dancer as well. At the same time his rare natural gifts for the arts, and notably for music, were carefully cultivated. Saint-George took lessons from Jean-Marie Leclair, and his talent for the violin soon made itself evident. In 1761 he was numbered among the gendarmes of the royal guard; yet his leisure hours

Joseph Boulogne, the Chevalier de Saint-George and the Problem With Black Mozart

“…And it was also Saint-George who debuted the symphonie concertante , an art form that would inspire Mozart, and one in which he would eventually excel (Banat, 2006). 4 Saint-George, according to de La Laurencie and Martens (1919), was among the first French composers to write string quartets (p. 74). So, Hegel’s dialectic, even when corrected by Fanon for my purpose, is only useful to provide a framework for how the bond between Saint-George and Mozart might be incorrectly problematized as the Black Mozart .…”

“… 1. As Nemeth (2005) explains, the Rue Richepance—which was formerly named after Antoine Richepance (1770–1802), Napoléon Bonaparte’s appointed incumbent in Guadeloupe charged with reestablishing slavery on the Island—was renamed after someone who advocated instead for the abolishment of slavery (p. 96). It should be noted, too, that the Basse Terre City Council of Guadeloupe named one of its streets Rue du Chevalier Saint Georges on November 28, 1912 (de La Laurencie & Martens, 1919). …”