Hildegard of Bingen

The appropriately named series "Music Before 1800" brings early music to New York City in the fitting venue of Corpus Christi Church on the West Side.

In February, I went there for a concert of music by the opera composer Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Today, however, they featured pieces by a much earlier composer of music drama, the 12th-century nun and mystic Hildegard of Bingen.

Hildegard essentially invented the morality play with The Order of the Virtues. The piece featured a cast of singing women portraying virtues including Humility, Charity, and Fear of God, and a single man (originally played by Hildegard's secretary) who played the devil. The devil was also the only one who did not sing, since apparently the holiness of music was beyond him.

The Tiburtina Ensemble who performed today did not enact The Order of the Virtues, but they did sing some of Hildegard's most famous hits, including "Ave generosa," "De patria," and my personal favorite, "O Ecclesia." That last one is a sequence recalling the story of St. Ursula, who was martyred along with a number of maidens she was leading in their quest to follow God. 

You can hear the Tiburtina Ensemble perform part of another medieval music drama, Visitatio Sepulchri, here.

Chevalier

I just saw the movie Chevalier about the famed opera composer Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

It was great to hear so much of his music in the film, and I hope that more people get a chance to see it. The movie conflates together a number of different historical figures and events, but the general outline of the story it tells is more or less true.

Together with the opera singer and director Lorraine Goodman, I wrote a stage play called God of Arms, which is also based on the life of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. We even had a series of readings of the piece, one featuring the incomparable Norm Lewis, but we never found a producer who was interested.

In the 1770s, Saint-Georges made a bid to take over the Paris Opera. Unfortunately, three prima donnas wrote a petition that he not be placed in charge of them, and the opera was instead turned over to the courtiers in charge of the king's amusements. Still, Saint-Georges kept composing.

His first opera, Ernestine, had a libretto by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, best known today as the author of the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses. Under the patronage of the Marquise de Montesson, Saint-Gearges wrote further operas, including L'amant anonyme, which has survived intact.

It's a pity you don't see opera companies today staging L'amant anonyme. It's also a pity theatres don't want to stage God of Arms! If you're interested in reading the play, please contact me.

God of Arms

This afternoon, I went to a concert at Corpus Christi Church that featured the music of famed swordsman, revolutionary, and opera composer Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

I actually wrote a play about the Chevalier in collaboration with Lorraine Goodman, a former opera singer who has also directed a number of operas herself. Bologne was a mixed-race composer who in the 18th century was just as famous for his sword fighting and amorous adventures as he was for his music.

This isn't the first time I've heard his music in concert. Not long ago, a small company in New York performed a chamber version of his opera L'Amant Anonyme, which was quite lovely. Former First Violin of the New York Philharmonic Gabriel Banat wrote the definitive biography of the composer, The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow. It's well worth a read.

A number of years ago, the CBC aired a special on Saint-Georges entitled Le Mozart Noir that later was released on DVD. (Yes, I own a copy.) A new movie, Chevalier, which presents a fictionalized version of his life, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is scheduled for a general release in April. Yes, I'll be going, but it would also be lovely if producers of plays took an interest in the Chevalier as well.

The play Lorraine and I wrote is called God of Arms after a title Saint-Georges held that was bestowed on those whose skill with the sword outshined all others. The Chevalier excelled not only with the epee, though, but also with the violin bow and the conductor's baton. 

If you're interested in the play, please contact me!

L'Amant Anonyme

This afternoon I had the pleasure of hearing an abridged version of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges' opera L'Amant Anonyme at 59 E 59 Theaters. This rare gem presented by Little Opera with the New Vintage Baroque ensemble is playing until March 20th, so see it while you still can!

I have a long-standing interest in Joseph Boulogne, the 18th-century composer who was knighted Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges for his fencing skill as well as his accomplishments as a violinist. Together with Lorraine Goodman, a former opera singer, I collaborated on a play about him, God of Arms, which received a couple of staged readings but has yet to be produced.

Saint-Georges was born on the island of Guadeloupe, the son of a wealthy French planter and an African slave. His father acknowledged him as his son and raised him as befitted a French gentleman, ensuring he had lessons in fencing and music. When he arrived in France, however, his dark skin provoked a great deal of prejudice, which would dog him all his life.

L'Amant Anonyme (The Anonymous Lover) is the only opera by Saint-Georges to survive in its entirety. Madame de Montesson, who was the secret wife of the Duke of Orleans and a patron of Saint-Georges, premiered the opera at her private theater in 1780. It tells the story of Valcour, a man secretly in love with his friend Leontine, but unable to tell her of his affections.

The opera is based on a play by Stephanie Felicite, a niece of Madame de Montesson who at 16 married the Comte de Genlis, becoming known thereafter as Madame de Genlis. Like Joanna Baillie, the Scottish playwright who followed her, Madame de Genlis saw drama as an opportunity to educate people, and wrote her plays as teaching devices.

Fortunately, L'Amant Anonyme feels delightful rather than didactic. If you want to go, check out the theater's website here:

59 E 59 Theaters