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By
FRANK BEHRENS
There was once the son of a
black slave and a white nobleman, a most talented
man named Joseph Boulogne. Brought up by his
loving father, Joseph established himself in
France as a master fencer, an expert violinist, a
composer good enough to invent the symphony
concertante and to influence another composer
named Mozart to try out that format. It was not
long before he was given the title Chevalier de
Saint-George and the nickname The Black Mozart. He
was also a hero in the French Revolution, but his
friendship with noblemen landed him in jail.
Pardoned at the last minute, he lived out the rest
of his life in obscurity.
Far too long neglected, his story is now told in a
50-minute film titled "Le Noir Mozart" on a CBC
Home Video DVD. This is a documentary with no
spoken dialogue, but a very good narration and
plenty of examples of his music. One can play the
short film with a voice-over commentary and there
are 8 audio-only selections of Saint-Georges's
music (I had to hit the 5.1 surround sound option
to bring it up) played by Tafelmusik Orchestra.
This is a Must for lovers of Musical History and
certainly of Black History. |
