The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Excellent or Nothing

de Saint George. By seventeen seventy five, tales of the Saint Georges fencing prowess had spread far beyond France's borders, though tonight he stood before his opponent not with a sword, but with a beau. More specific, a beau and a violin. The audience gathered outside the hall for a performance by one of Paris's premier orchestras, the concer de 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 of buzz, a symphony concertante.

The late eighteenth 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 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 brings 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 untquell 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 Concertant may have been designed as a competition against another violinist, but Saint George'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 thirty five, but of course that wasn't what the audience saw. Instead, the reason that the audience was so skeptical of Saint 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 Guadelupe, 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 theatric 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 concertint 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 Danish schwartz and this is noble blood. Our story begins in seventeen fifty three 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 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 Bolonne was the son of an enslaved woman named Nano, 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 seventeen forty five, Nana was just sixteen 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 sixteen eighty five, King Louis the fifteenth 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 Code 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 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 write, he was also tutored in violin and fencing, the latter of which became the primary focus of his studies when, at the age of thirteen, he was enrolled in the Mapre de la Boissi 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 Mulado 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 four 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 Guadaloupe, ever likely present in the back of his mind, Joseph became excellent.

prejudice against him spread far as well. In seventeen sixty two, fencing master Alexandra Picard de Bremont went on record disparaging Joseph, calling him quote the mulado of La Boissarrie, as if he were the academy's mere side show 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 seventeen. 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 Guillame Ponce de la Grove 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 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 bedding pool that day, since soon after the duel and Joseph's subsequent graduation, he was giving a position in the King's life guard, and with this position came the title we know Joseph Bolone 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 decorps, whose job it was to be stationed at gates, the Gendame du bois were largely ceremonial guards who would escort their Majesty's carriage only on special occasions. To supplement his time on the King's guard, Saint 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 Guadeloupe, 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 synonymous with monogamy, only discretion. As such, being an attractive and famously talented swordsman slash violin prodigy, Saint George was never short on admirers. Saint George was reported to have had numerous affairs throughout his life, including one in the late seventeen eighties with none other than

noble blood alum and famous adulteress, Lady Seymour Worseley. But the most notable affair among them was with a dancer for the Academy Royale de Musique who went by the name La Guiemins. Though as will 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 Francoise Joseph Gossek, who would go on to become Joseph's compositional teacher and ultimately his key into the Concertieaure. When Goseck founded the Amateur in seventeen sixty nine, he asked Saint George to come on as one of the violin chairs in the

semi professional ensemble. By seventeen seventy three, when Goseque 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 George would 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 Marie Antoinette. As we all know, following the death of King Louis the fifteenth in seventeen seventy four, King Louis the sixteenth 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 Boulone, the Chevalier de Saint George, who led Paris's most popular orchestra, was proposed as the new musical director of the Paris Opera, he seemed the obvious choice.

Of course, nothing was ever that simple. Remember La Guiemin, the rumored jilted lover of Saint George, while she, along with two other dancers from the Academy Royal de Musique, petitioned Marie Antoinette, telling the Queen quote their honor and their delicate conn could never allow them to submit to the orders of a mulatto. End in the Parisian salons, Saint 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 trysts 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 and 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 the sixteenth opted to turn the Paris Opera over to the City of Paris. In short, deep unplug the Nintendo if You're losing the game 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 straits 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 celons 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 amateurs, 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 nineteenth, seventeen seventy seven. It subsequently closed on July nineteenth, seventeen

seventy seven, lasting only one night. Saint George's first opera was criticized by the press for its sub par libretto, which, to be fair, Saint 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 Orleans, 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 composure of a failed opera to write for her theater, but by seventeen seventy seven, Joseph's father had died, and despite him leaving a substantial amount of money to both his son and the Chevalier's mother, Nana, the inheritance ultimately found its way almost entirely into the pockets of Joseph's legitimate half sister, so on the heels of Joseph's fail 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 Theatre Montrescent. As it happened, Saint George's second opera, La Chase, which had its first performance to an invited audience at the Theatron Montressin, was a declared hit, despite only running for four performances, for 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 seventeen eighty five, the Duke of Orleans died, which meant Saint 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 Saint George to London to meet the Prince of Wales, the oldest son of King George the Third future King George the Fourth, who had heard word of this superb fencer slash violinist Saint George Son George readily agreed, and the Duke 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 George. But stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear about another famous classical musician who may have known Joseph Blonne, the Chevalier de

Saint George. For those of you classical music officionados 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 will confirm yes, one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was indeed in Paris at the exact same time as Joseph Balone, the Chevalier de Saint George in seventeen

seventy eight. In fact, between July fifth and September eleventh of that year, the two were living under the very same roof at the Montessons mansion on the Chasset d'antan. Yet unfortunately, despite their proximity, there's actually no i'h written a 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 ten years old in seventeen sixty six, but some scholars theorize Mozart patently did not want to meet San George during their stays in Paris in seventeen seventy eight because he was envious of his success. I will say that Mozart's mother had just died in the beginning of July in seventeen seventy eight, so he

may have just been completely in mourning. In letters from Mozart's father, he begs his son to attend a performance of the concerd'emtur, 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 Saint George was having in Paris at the time Mozart arrived, who is to say that Mozart isn't the white Chevalier de Saint George. Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio

and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is created and hosted by me Dana Schwortz, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and rima Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.

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