Noble Blood - The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Excellent or Nothing

Episode Date: June 6, 2023

In the late 1700s, one man became a celebrated fixture of Parisian salon culture: he was a prodigy fencer, and then a brilliant composer and violinists. He befriended Marie Antoinette and lead one of the city's most famous orchestras. And he was the son of an enslaved woman, fighting against the stigma of his skin color in a world where it made him hyper-visible but didn't let him be truly seen.  Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Merch! — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot.

But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, The cat, just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck.

Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. As the sun dimmed over the River Sen, Paris's best and brightest were gathering for a duel. towering wigs and tailored suits poured out of horse-drawn carriages onto cobblestone streets. Each new arrival with one name on their lips, the Chevalier de Saint-George. By 1775, tales of the San Georges' fencing prowess had spread far beyond France's borders, though tonight he stood before his opponent not with a sword,

but with a bow. More specifically, a bow and a violin. The audience gathered outside the hall for a performance by one of Paris's premier orchestras, the Concert d'Amateur, who, contrary to the way their name sounds, were anything but amateur. The orchestra was composed of the city's foremost professional and semi-professional musicians, born from within the carefully curated ranks of the city's social elite. Saint-George had initially entered into the amateurs upon his reputation, playing salons across Paris. But in just four short years, he had worked his way up from mere, well, amateur, to the director of the entire ensemble. And tonight, he was debuting his newest composition

that had the whole city abuzz, a symphony concertant. The late 18th century was the height of the classical music era, and symphony concertante were just one of the many innovations made within the genre during this time. Unlike a typical orchestral performance with an ensemble supporting a single soloist, these concerts featured not one, but two soloists, in this case violinists, playing off each other in tandem, each almost trying to outplay the other, as if dueling within the piece itself.

If you're still having a hard time wrapping your head, head around the concept, just think of the movie Eight Mile with Eminem, or on the complete opposite side of the film spectrum, the riff-off scene in pitch-perfect. Each performer is meant to enhance the overall piece, but at its heart, the dual soloists bring something to the performance that a typical concert lacks. Competition. Fortunately for Saint-George, competition was something of a second nature. For him, it almost had to be. The audience may have quieted their chatter, as Saint-George and his company took to the stage and began tuning their instruments, but their hush did unto-quell the skeptical glances and whispers of condescension,

pressing toward him as the minutes until the performance began continued to count down. The truth was the symphony concertante may have been designed as a competition against another violinist, but Saint-Georgia's real opponent remained what it had always been his entire life, his audience. It would have been enough to have been a wealthy, attractive, renowned swordsman turned professional violinist, directing one of Paris's finest orchestras all before the age of third. 35, but of course, that wasn't what the audience saw. Instead, the reason that the audience was so skeptical of San George's success was not because they were wary of his talent or success, but because of the color of his skin. Born to a French plantation owner and an enslaved woman in the French

colony of Guadalupe, his deep brown complexion held more. than the narrative the audience, consciously or unconsciously projected onto him. Some of his audience, no doubt, thought that his, quote, exotic background added to the theatricality of it all, a footnote to an anecdote they would go on to tell at their next dinner party. But for the Chevalier de Saint-George, the concertant allowed him to do what he did best. He boldly entered an arena into which he was expected to conform and proceeded to beat them all at their own game. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. Our story begins in 1753, with a man and his son on a ship headed into port off the coast of France.

The man's name was George Boulogne de Saint-George, a wealthy plane. plantation owner on the small island of Guadalupe, a French colony mostly known for their sugar exports. His son, Joseph, was accompanying his father to France to receive an education he would have been otherwise unable to receive were he to stay on his home island. It wasn't due to the lack of schooling available on the island, but rather due to the nature of the boy's birth. Joseph Boulogne was the son of an enslaved woman named Nannel, who his father, George, had been having an affair with for nearly a decade. I want to make it absolutely clear, though George seemed to genuinely care for Nanon and for his son, Joseph, this in no way

made Nanon's relationship with George consensual. In addition to the fact that at the time of Joseph's birth in 1745, Nanal was just 16 years old, barely more than a child herself. George was in a position of power over her that made even the question of consent just, well, out of the question. But power dynamics aside, it was evident that George loved his son, and upon realizing that Joseph would never receive an equal education in Guadalupe where mixed-race children were unquestionably ostracized within the community, he chose to accompany his son to France to provide him an education fit for a gentleman. As I'm sure you can imagine, this was not a common practice within the majority of mixed-race children in the French island colonies. In 1685,

King Louis XVIth enacted what became known as the Code Noir, a decree initially written to prevent enslaved women from being forced into sexual slavery by their owners. Over the years, the Code Noir was largely ignored in the colonies as there was no way to consistently police the practice, leading to a large growth in the mixed-race population among the island colonies. However, one piece of the Cod Noir that was largely followed was the requirement of the mother

to take care of the resulting child, meaning the mixed-race child was more often than not relegated to a life of indentured servitude or slavery as well. George obviously didn't want such a life for his son, and with anti-quote mulatto sentiment on the rise in the colonies, he made the decision to take Joseph to France, where still Stigmas against mixed-race children were, while still existent, actually not nearly as restrictive as they were in the colonies. There's little known about Joseph's early schooling, but considering his musical prowess later in life, it's assumed that in addition to reading and writing, he was also tutored in violin and fencing, the latter of which became the primary focus of his studies when, at the age of the age of

13, he was enrolled in the Matra de la Boessari Fencing Academy in Paris. It was here Joseph's reputation would begin to precede him, as his success in school labeled him not just as the, quote, mulatto student, but as a fencing prodigy. It's also worth realizing his success as a fencer and later as a musician was likely born out of necessity. thrust into a society that immediately projected its own prejudices on him due to the color of his skin, like so many other immigrants and people of color living under power structures made predominantly by and for white people, Joseph had two choices, be excellent or be nothing at all. He may have had his father's money and connections, but as we will later find out,

Even that was never a guarantee. His skin would always be the first thing people saw, and without his father there, he was just a mixed-race black man in a predominantly white world with little to know opportunities. Making a name for himself was never a choice. It was necessity. And so, with the faces of the enslaved people

who shared his skin on the island of Guadalupe, ever likely present in the back of his mind, Joseph became excellent. Quote, Joseph made such rapid progress that at 15 he was beating the strongest fighters. At 17, he acquired the greatest speed imaginable. Yet he accomplished all that with a sweetness of manner that charmed even those among his peers who had good reason to envy his success. and quote. These were the words of the son of La Bo Esreux, and by 17, Joseph's reputation as a fencing virtuoso extended far beyond Paris. But of course that meant that the prejudice against him spread far as well.

In 1762, fencing master Alexandra Picard de Bramont went on record disparaging Joseph, calling him, quote, the mulatto of La Boesserie, as if he were the academy's mere sideshow attraction, rather than a talented fencer. Picard was most likely calling out Joseph to promote his own fencing school, which he had just obtained his license for.

But the words were enough to spur Joseph into action, challenging the master to a duel when he was just the age of 17. Picard readily accepted the challenge, no doubt discounting young Joseph based on his age and his skin color. What Picard was not expecting was to lose. On the day of the event, hundreds of spectators gathered to witness the now widely publicized display. Bedding pools were the talk of the crowd, and each side was also most likely loudly sharing their opinions, on the recent decree by French Attorney General Guillaume Ponce de la Grave

to register all blacks and, quote, mulattoes in France. Tension hung thick in the air as the two men took their places before their audience, but the strict moment of decorum was short-lived. Joseph, known for his incredible speed and swift attacks, lunged at his opponent, and before the audience could even let go of the breath they had collected, collectively been holding before the duel began, the young student, quote, whose attacks were a perpetual series of hits, beat him with ease, end quote.

Excellence or nothing. For his victory, Joseph's father bought his son a horse and buggy, essentially the equivalent of gifting his son a new car for his win. From there, Joseph's reputation only continued to climb. Some scholars believe that even the king may have had his hand in the betting pool that day, since soon after the duel and Joseph's subsequent graduation, he was given a position in the King's Life Guard, and with this position came the title we know Joseph Boulogne as today,

the Chevalier de Saint-George, following his graduation from Fencing Academy, San George settled into his new life in Paris as part of the King's Guard. Unlike the Guard de Corps, whose job it was to be stationed at gates, the gendarm de Rois were largely ceremonial guards, who would escort their Majesty's carriage only on special occasions. To supplement his time on the King's Guard, San George continued his training. With a reputation to uphold, he didn't want to fall into obscurity. But in addition to fencing, Joseph began attending salons in Paris,

which is where he would make his first musical debut into society. His prowess with a sword seemed to carry over to the violin, and it wasn't long before the whole of Paris took notice. He became the darling of the most prestigious Parisian salons, and soon the guest of many of Paris's most prestigious beds. He was no longer the young boy who had first sailed over from Guadalupe, but he was a rather striking young man whose rigorous training had him filling out the tailored suits he wore around the city.

The confidence with which he carried himself only added to his charm, and the women around him were quick to take notice. At this point in time in Paris, marriage wasn't synonymous with monogamy, only discretion. As such, being an attractive and famously talented swordsman-slash-violin prodigy, San George was never short on admirers. San George was reported to have had numerous affairs throughout his life, including one in the late 1780s, with none other than Noble Blood alum and famous, Miss Adulterous, Lady Seymour Worcely.

But the most notable affair among them was with a dancer for the Academy Royale de Music, who went by the name La Gima. Though, as we'll come to see, it wasn't so much their affair that would go on to affect Joseph's career, but rather his denial of her advances. But we'll get into that later. While he was charming his way across the city's most prestigious salons, soon Parisian aristocrats gave way to world-renowned musicians, eager to gain his favor. Eventually, he would be introduced to Francois Joseph Gosec,

who would go on to become Joseph's compositional teacher and ultimately his key into the Concert de Amateur. When Gosec founded the Amateur, in 1769, he asked St. George to come on as one of the violin chairs in the semi-professional ensemble. By 1773, when Gossack decided to retire as director, Saint-George had already risen to first chair, and it was without question that he would become his successor. During his tenure as director of the Concert d'Amateur, Saint-Gorge would come to first chair, compose more than nine violin concertos and would lead the orchestra to stretch the idea of what

classical music could be. His symphony concertante with dueling violin soloists broadened the horizons of the genre, so much so that he would eventually capture the attention of, perhaps my favorite noble blood royal, Murray Antoinette. As we all know, following the death of King Louis the 15th, in 1774, King Louis XVIth ascended the throne with Marie Antoinette at his side. Though she was mostly relegated to their palace in Versailles, the queen was more than familiar with goings-on among culture in Paris. So when Joseph Boulogne, the Chevalier de Saint-George, who led Paris's most popular orchestra, was proposed as the new musical director of the Paris Opera, seemed the obvious choice. Of course nothing was ever that simple. Remember La Agamont, the rumored,

jilted lover of Saint-George? Well, she, along with two other dancers from the Academy Royal de Musec, petitioned Marie Antoinette, telling the queen, quote, their honor and their delicate conscience could never allow them to submit to the orders of a mulatto." End quote. In the Parisian salons, St. George's skin tone was often considered an afterthought to those around him. His talent and charm spoke more than enough for itself. But at the same time, he was never a suitable candidate for marriage, only for Trist's

behind closed doors. He was never granted entrance into the most exclusive rooms in all of Paris. People clamored to hear his concertos, yet his admission into society was only contingent on his excellence in performance. And even then, it wasn't enough to be given a position he rightfully deserved. In order to diffuse the scandal of whether Saint-George would become the music director of the Paris Opera, King Louis XVIth opted to turn the Paris Opera over to the city of Paris. In short, the unplug the Nintendo if you're losing the game's solution,

handing the reins over to his intendant of light entertainment. But for Saint-George, the damage was already done. Though he continued to direct the concert to amateurs, the loss of the Paris Opera would stay with him, even as the streets of Paris began to disintegrate around him. In the wake of the scandal with the Paris opera, Marie Antoinette was not so quick to let Saint-George fade away. Instead, she opted to hold private salons in Versailles,

where she would invite him and the most notable musicians in Paris to play for her, oftentimes with her accompanying them on the piano forte. and in return, Marie would often attend performances of the Emmetours, using her power to bring attention and prestige to the enterprise. She came so often that the orchestra began wearing their finest clothes for every concert, because they never knew when she might show up. But Saint-George was not so quick as to put the opera music director scandal behind him. Instead, he seemingly used his anger to fuel the next portion of his career, writing opera. Unfortunately for him, his next composition wouldn't be destined for the great success he was accustomed to. His first opera, Ernestine, premiered on July 19th, 1777.

It subsequently closed on July 19th, 1777. lasting only one night, San George's first opera was criticized by the press for its subpar libretto, which, to be fair, San George did not write, but still, a flop was a flop. But that didn't stop him from writing. The failure did provide him with one new opportunity.

The Marquise de Montesson, the wife of the Duke of Orlean, was interested in funding her own private theater, and after seeing Ernestine, she realized that she wanted the Chevalier de Saint-George for the job. It may seem peculiar to pursue a composer of a failed opera to write for her theater, but by 1777, Joseph's father had died, and despite him leaving a substantial amount of money to both his son

and the Chevalier's mother, Nanant, the inheritance ultimately found its way almost entirely, into the pockets of Joseph's legitimate half-sister. So, on the heels of Joseph's failed opera, Montesant likely knew that he was in no position to turn down her offer, which meant that she had a new music director for the Theatra Montrescent. As it happened, St. George's second opera, La Chasse, which had its first performance to an invited audience at the Theatres Montres.

was a declared hit, despite only running for four performances. Four, as it seemed, was better than one, though, and Saint-George would go on to write at least one more opera before disaster would once again strike. In 1785, the Duke of Orleans died, which meant San George was once again without an employer. But during his years in the Orleans fold, Saint-George had befriended the Duke's son, Philippe, who was now the new Duke.

Upon seeing his friend without sufficient employment, the new Duke decided to invite San George to London to meet the Prince of Wales, the oldest son of King George III, future King George IV, who had heard word of this superb fencer-slash-violinist, San George. San George readily agreed, and the Duke and San George, and Saint-George swiftly made their way across the channel to England. But unbeknownst to the Chevalier, Philippe had more than one reason

that he was bringing the famed Chevalier de Saint-George to London. This concludes part one of our two-part series on the incredibly exciting life of the Chevalier de Saint-Gorge, but stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear about another famous classical musician who may have known Joseph Ballone, the Chevalier de Saint-George. What's up, everyone?

I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network, it's Will Ferrell. Woo-woo-woo-woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day,

and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a show. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot.

He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar. calendar of, you know, the cat, just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodem. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo-woo, whoo-woo.

My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up-and-coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot.

He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

For those of you classical music aficionados out there who may have been putting mental timelines together throughout this episode, first I applaud you on your very specific historical knowledge, and second, we'll confirm, yes, one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was indeed in Paris at the exact same time as Joseph Boulogne, the Chevalier de Saint-S. George in 1778. In fact, between July 5th and September 11th of that year, the two were living under the very same roof at the Montesson's mansion on the Chasse d'Anton. Yet, unfortunately, despite their proximity, there's actually no written record of the two ever meeting during this time. Still, if you want, this is me giving you permission to write your own imagined classical music. version of that musical Million Dollar Quartet. San George actually did happen to meet Mozart when he was just 10 years old in 1766, but some scholars theorize Mozart patently did not want to meet San George during their stays

in Paris in 1778 because he was envious of his success. I will say that Mozart's mother had just died in the beginning of July in 1778, so he may have just been completely in mourning. In letters for Mozart's father, he begs his son to attend a performance of the Concert de Amateur, but there's no record of Mozart fulfilling his father's wishes. We will most likely never know if there was a feud between the two legendary musicians or some hidden off-the-record friendship, you never know, but musical historians have long questioned why the villain in Mozart's opera, the magic flute, is meant to be portrayed by a black man. Could it have been a lingering jealousy that fueled his work? Maybe, but I'll end with one

closing thought. Today, when referencing San George, many call him the black Mozart. But when you consider the success that San George was having in Paris at the time Mozart arrived, Who's to say that Mozart isn't the white Chevalier de Saint-George? Noble Blood is a production of I-Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is created and hosted by me, Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is edited and produced by Noamie Griffin and Rima, Il Kali with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams,

and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodom. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever, if you ever, reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat, just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right. It wouldn't

be that. There's a lot of luck. Yeah. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Heardt Podcast. Guaranteed Newman.