Joseph boulogne biography

1 July 2020, 16:53 | Updated: 28 March 2023, 10:05

Born a slave, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a prolific 18th-century composer who was also a master fencer, violin virtuoso and composer in Marie Antoinette’s court.

But his story is largely untold.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was an extraordinary composer, musician and polymath whose name has long been neglected in Western classical music tradition.

Born in 1745 in the French colony of Guadeloupe, he was the illegitimate son of a slave (his mother) and married white plantation owner (his father).

As a young boy, he was taken to France by his father, where he became a master swordsman.

He was one of the first black colonels in the French army, leading 800 infantrymen and 200 cavalries in Europe’s first all-black regiment.

It was there he acquired his title, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

Then, there was his music. De Saint Ge