With respect to the biographical video accounts of Bologne’s life and Wikipedia’s entry, I would situate myself between the two. However, I have to state that it is amazing that the black Mozart should have influenced Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is equally amazing that as the Director of the Concert de la Loge Olympique, he should have commissioned Symphonies from Franz Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809), the famous “Paris Symphonies” (1785-1786), and premièred them.
The Chevalier de Saint-George was an esteemed composer and conductor as well as a virtuoso violinist. Moreover, he was an accomplished swordsman and equestrian. He was admired by George IV of England, the Prince of Wales, which is not a trivial detail. Would that Saint-George had fled to England rather than join the French army when the French Revolution started to spin out of control.
I have not finished reading my colleagues’ posts, so I apologize. Preparing my posts of Saint-George was time-consuming. However, I have now seen YouTube’s biographical videos. There are several videos and they tell, in English, Saint-George’s entire story.
The Biographical Videos
Yesterday evening, I watched the biographical videos. They provide excellent information, but that period in French history is a little difficult for me to follow. During the French Revolution, the Jacobin calendar replaced to the Gregorian Calendar, named after Pope Gregory XIII (7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) and still in use. As Napoleon rose to power, the Jacobin calendar remained the calendar used by the French and it is a calendar that tends to confuse me. However, there is help on the internet. To convert a Gregorian calendar date to a Jacobin date, click on Jacobin. I suppose the reverse is also possible.
The Military
But, let us return to our Chevalier’s years in the military. He was at first a gendarme and later a soldier. At the age of 19, when he graduated, George was made a Gendarme de la Garde du Roi, created in 1609 by Henri IV. The Garde duRoi‘smission was to protect the dauphin, the name given the heir to the throne of France.
Therefore, as a member of the Garde du Roi, Joseph’s duties had little to do with his future military assignments. As I pointed out in the blog I posted yesterday (September 12, 2012), the Chevalier de Saint-George “served in the army of the Revolution against France’s foreign enemies.” (Chevalier de Saint-George, Wikipedia), but there is more to say. At one point, Joseph took command of a regiment of a thousand free people of color, which brought on his demise.
Discrepancies
According to the YouTube biographical videos, upon his dismissal from the military, on September 25, 1793, Saint-George was condemned to death. This information differs from the information provided in Saint-George’s Wikipedia entry. Joseph was an aristocrat and, as an aristocrat, he could have been guillotined. However, according to Wikipedia, he was accused of using public funds for private gain. Wikipedia does not chronicle a death sentence.
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Given that I would like to send this post as soon as possible, I will close now. There will be a third and final post on the Chevalier de Saint-George.
Photo credit:
Wikipedia: Anne de Joyeuse (1561-87) married Marguerite de Vaudémont on the 24th of September 1581. The painting is not identified other than as a work of the French school 1581-1582. It is housed in Le Louvre. Anne was and may still be, albeit rarely, both a masculine and feminine name.
Wikipedia: Dirck de Bray, 1635-1694
Classical music & the “classical” era
There is a great deal of unnecessary confusion regarding the word “Classical” in music, but the matter can be simplified.
Broadly speaking, the eras of music listed below are called collectively “Classical music.” In other words, for practical reasons, music composed during these periods can be called Classical, whether or not it is music of the Classical period.
The Eras, or periods, of Western music are
the Medieval era (500-1400)
the Renaissance (1400–1600)
the Baroque*era (1600–1760)
the Classical era (1730–1820) ←
the Romantic era (1815–1910)
the 20th century (1900–2000)
*the word “baroque” is used to describe an odd-shaped pearl.
Strictly speaking, Classical music is music composed between 1730 and 1820. The three main figures associated with the Classical period are Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), and Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827). But Beethoven is also considered a composer of the Romantic era, early Romanticism. So there is overlapping between periods. To obtain the names of musicians associated with Classical music, simply click on Classical period.
Louis XIII (27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643), King of France from 1610, when his father Henri IV was assassinated, until his death in 1643, was very fond of music and therefore composed lovely pieces. Contrary to Frederick the Great (Friedrich II) of Prussia, Louis XIII never truly reigned. Louis’s life therefore allowed him to indulge his interests, such as music.
However, during that period, France was nevertheless governed. Marie de’ Medici, Henri IV’s widow did rule for a short period, but France was soon governed by Armand Jean du Plessis, cardinal-duc de Richelieu et de Fronsac (9 September 1585–1642), le Cardinal Richelieu. Le Cardinal Richelieu also governed New France. After Richelieu’s death, France’s Prime Minister was Jules Mazarin (1602–1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino and trained by le Cardinal Richelieu.
In other words, from the late 1610s until 1661, France was governed first by Henri IV’s widow, Marie de’ Medici, who was not up to the task. As a result, Prime Ministers started to govern, the first of whom was Richelieu. They may be called éminencesgrises, except that they were too visible to be referred to as “grey.” The better term would be that of Prime Minister. For instance, le Père Joseph (Father Joseph), the man behind le Cardinal Richelieu, was a genuine éminencegrise.
When his father died, Louis XIV of France would not tolerate ministers. He was an advocate of the divine right of kings. He reigned between 1661 and 1715. Absolutism was achieved when the Edict of Nantes, an Edict of tolerance issued on 13 April 1598, was revoked in October 1685, by Louis XIV. In 1685, France lost some of its finest citizens: French Calvinist Protestants called Huguenots.
But let us listen to Louis XIII the composer. The French ballet de cour, the Masque, became a favourite divertissement in the late sixteenth century. However, it is associated with the reign of both Louis the XIII and Louis XIV. Louis XIII wrote the Ballet de la Merlaison, all of which, i.e. the music, is on YouTube.
Begonia, by Paul-Émile Borduas, 14 January 1924
Paul-Émile Borduas (November 1, 1905 – February 22, 1960)
Photo credit: National Gallery of Canada
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