African-American composers have made a significant impact upon our
nation's musical heritage in the fields of ragtime, swing, jazz, blues,
and of course rap, but few of us pause to consider their contributions
to the Western classical music genre. In fact, some of us are totally
ignorant of it. There is a significant body of high quality classical
music by African-American composers. Some of these compositions were
written by jazz artists like Duke Ellington, whose suite entitled The
River, falls into a category that the music industry refers to as
"crossover".
But the name that first comes to mind when one thinks of a purely
classical African-American composer is that of William Levi Dawson
(1899-1990), the former head of the Department of Music at Tuskegee
Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama. Conservatory-trained
and a professional trombonist, Dawson was the first African-American to
have a major work -- his Negro Folk Symphony -- professionally
recorded. That privilege went to none other than the fabled Leopold
Stokowski, former conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and his
American Symphony Orchestra.
Dawson -- along with José White, William Grant Still, George Theophilus
Walker, and many others -- forms part of a long line of
African-American composers and performers whose classical music
heritage and artistic ancestors included an African-English composer
and conductor named Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. In the second decade of
the 20th century, he was the first man of African heritage to conduct
the New York Philharmonic and his ability was described by those who
played under him as being on a par with the finest European conductors
of the day. Performers of African heritage could also be found in
Europe in the early 19th century. Beethoven composed his well-known
"Kreutzer" sonata for a violinist of African-English heritage by the
name of Augustus Bridgetower.
Over twenty-five years ago, CBS Records issued a short-lived series of
LP recordings devoted to the music of African-American and
African-European composers who were active from the 18th through the
20th centuries. The recordings were conducted by this country's
best-known African-American maestro, Paul Freeman. Unfortunately, since
the advent of the compact disc and the subsequent purchase of the
recording division of CBS by Sony, those rare and now coveted LP
releases have been deleted from the firm's catalog and as of this
writing, there are no plans afoot to re-release the material on compact
disc.
Among the recordings was an album of music by one Joseph Boulogne,
called Chevalier de Saint-Georges (ca. 1739-1799). But after a
quarter-century of unmerited neglect by the world's major producers of
classical music recordings, Saint-Georges' music is again reaching the
public due to the efforts of Tennessee-based Naxos USA. A series of
compact discs devoted to all of Saint-Georges' violin concertos is in
preparation. They are performed by renowned Japanese violinist Takako
Nishizaki and the world famous Cologne Chamber Orchestra, conducted by
Helmut Müller-Bruhl. The first disc -- released in 2002 as Naxos
8.555040 -- contains two of Saint-Georges' concertos from his Opus 2
set and a single concerto that was published as Opus 8.
The multi-year project is a collaborative effort by Naxos with the New
Zealand music-publishing firm, Artaria Editions, Ltd. Artaria
specializes in researching, editing, and engraving rare and neglected
classical music repertoire from the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Artaria and its corporate partner, Naxos, are currently engaged in an
encyclopedic recording project that -- when complete -- will provide an
aural documentary of the development of the symphony and the concerto
in 18th century Europe.
But what makes Saint-Georges so special that he has attracted the
attention of a music publishing firm more than half a world away? Dr.
Allan Badley, Managing Director of Artaria, and an internationally
recognized expert on European music of the mid to late 18th century
explains: "Joseph Boulogne, called Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was
widely regarded as the most accomplished man of his age. Not only was
he among the most important musicians in Paris during the
pre-Revolutionary period," Badley, who also edited the music for the
recording sessions, continued: "But Saint-Georges was also a superb,
all-round athlete and man of arms. Among connoisseurs of the art of
fencing, Saint-Georges was considered the finest swordsman in Europe,
possessed of extraordinary speed, flexibility and grace, qualities that
he also exhibited in abundance as a violinist."
"In an age when slavery was endemic and slaves were regarded as
‘moveable objects’, beasts of burden to be starved, beaten, tortured
and killed at will, Saint-Georges, was without doubt one of its most
celebrated of men," Badley added. According to Badley, Saint-Georges'
origins -- in many older published accounts -- are incorrect in detail,
but essentially accurate in substance. "Recent research has established
that his father was one George de Bologne Saint-George, a former
Gentleman of the King’s Bedchamber and an important planter at
Basse-Terre, Guadaloupe. Nothing is known of Saint-Georges' mother
beyond the fact that she was a beautiful young slave of Senegalese
origin who was given the name Nanon. She may have been one of the
Boulogne family's household slaves."
When Saint-Georges was young, his family relocated to Saint Domingue
(now Haiti), and at the age of ten, they -- along with Nanon --
returned to France. There, the child's lifestyle underwent a phenomenal
change. In addition to becoming involved in a host of activities --
including riding, dancing, swimming, and skating -- Saint-Georges
became a master swordsman; in his prime, he was considered the finest
in Europe. His famous contemporary, Henry Angelo, claimed that
Saint-Georges "…combined in his person his mother’s grace and good
looks and his father’s vigour (sic) and assurance."
When Saint-Georges turned thirteen, his father, perhaps intending him
for a military career, boarded him with the Master of Arms, La
Boëssière. La Boëssière’s son, also a famous swordsman, trained from
boyhood alongside Saint-Georges. In his foreword to the second edition
of his father’s La Traité de l’Art des Armes, the younger La Boëssière
writes: "From the age of eight when my father first put the foil in my
hand I had the inestimable advantage of being trained under his
instruction and brought up with M. de Saint-Georges, who was my friend
and companion in arms right up to his death. "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. This combination gave him the
poise he needed to recover his position and go back on to the attack
with the speed of lightning…He made good use of the gracefulness and
talent that nature had bestowed on him, and those watching were amazed.
When he was fencing with friends he was full of consideration. But woe
betide anyone who tried to take advantage! If he noticed this he took
his revenge with interest."
Between 1758 and 1768, the young Saint-Georges mastered musical
composition and his instrument as quickly and as securely as he did
fencing. He studied violin with the famous Jean-Marie Leclair and
composition with François-Joseph Gossec. The latter eventually
appointed Saint-Georges as first violin in the orchestra of the
prestigious Concerts des Amateurs, one of the foremost musical
organizations in Paris. When Saint-Georges appeared in 1772 as soloist
in his own violin concertos, his reputation was even further enhanced.
The following year, Saint-Georges replaced Gossec as the director of
the concert series that the latter founded.
The music composed by Saint-Georges is similar to that of Mozart in its
character: bright, witty, charming, elegant, wholly accessible, and
eminently listenable. Not a note is wasted, nor a phrase superfluous.
It is filled with virtuosity, but there are also many opportunities for
the violin to sing. "As a composer, Saint-Georges was noted for his
ability to pen stimulating and exquisite melodies, one after another.
His melodic gifts are most apparent in the slow movements which are
without question among the most beautiful of any composer of the
period. The virtuosic first movements radiate a kind of leisurely grace
through Saint-George's elegant melodic ideas," remarked Badley.
But circumstances in France would soon take a dramatic and irrevocable
turn, and Saint-Georges would find himself wielding an officer's sword
and not a violinist's bow. The 1780s brought political turmoil and
eventually revolution to France, and the now ennobled Chevalier de
Saint-George took the side of the newly-formed Republic, assembling a
military force in northern France. In 1791, he completely abandoned his
once-beloved music to assume command of the National Guard in Lille,
but after being wrongly accused of misappropriating money intended for
his unit, Saint-Georges was stripped of his command and imprisoned.
After his release, Saint-George left for Saint Domingue upon hearing of
a slave revolt in his homeland. Returning to Paris in 1797, he
attempted in vain to recover his once-prominent position in musical
society, but failed and died a pauper after giving up his wealth and
life to the Revolution.
At his death, there was no knowledge of any family. His father had a
legitimate daughter, but the search for her was in vain. Perhaps she
had emigrated, or perhaps she had died. There was never any record of
her having any contact with her half-brother. This man who was once so
sought after, ended his life with nothing and no one. There were
certainly greater composers during the late 18th century, but none of
them -- not even the great Mozart -- possessed anywhere near the
remarkable range of talents, exotic persona, and fascinating
personality of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. He was, by
every measure, a man.
