Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George (1745-1799) has been rescued from the margins of history in recent years thanks to the readability of his swashbuckling life story and the warm appeal of his music. Born in Guadeloupe to a wealthy white planter and an enslaved Senegalese woman, he was educated in Paris where he became a champion fencer as well as a virtuoso violinist and composer who knew and was known by everyone (at one point, Mozart and Bologne were house guests of the same patron).

His output includes six operas, of which only one survives intact, 14 violin concertos and a handful of symphonies and chamber works. Despite his fame and the friendship of Marie Antoinette, his career ran up against racial discrimination, blocking his appointment to lead the Paris Opéra. During the French Revolution, he fought as a colonel, leading Europe’s first all-Black regiment. He died in 1799 at just 51 years of age.

Previously recorded sets of his concertos and string quartets reveal a serious talent, albeit occasionally patchy. His music, though always engaging, tends to lack the memorability of Mozart. A considerable plus with this deftly curated portrait album is the judicious program as chosen by violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte. Nothing is included here that is not of the highest level of invention, allowing Bologne’s considerable talents to shine.

The Violin Concerto in C, Op. 3 No. 2, is a gem, equal to anything around at the time. Langlois de Swarte points up the music’s faux-rustic twang, his tone deliciously silvery, his playing bursting with joie de vivre. The orchestra goes with him, attacking the score with gusto. The recording has a brightness and clarity about it revealing scrupulously crafted instrumental lines. The same goes for the butter-smooth Adagio from the Violin Concerto No. 5 in A, and the zesty String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 1 No. 4, a two-movement charmer taken here at a compelling lick.

The composer’s orchestral music is represented by a pair of ballets extracted from his one surviving opera, L’amant anonyme. This is colourful music, written to be danced, and performed with bracing spirit. The opera is also the source of much of the rest of the music here. Langlois de Swarte has assembled a strong cast who bring the music to life, especially Lauranne Oliva whose brilliant soprano and nimble phrasing are standouts here. Elsewhere, Bastien Rimondi is touching in the song Rose d’amour, a gentle ballad spun out over a pizzicato accompaniment. Oliva makes her mark again in one of the few surviving numbers from Bologne’s Ernestine. If this involving aria is anything to go by, the long-lost opera to a libretto by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (of Les Liaisons dangereuses fame), would be quite a find.

Listen on Apple Music

Composer: Chevalier de Saint-George
Work: Portrait
Performers: Vocal soloists, Théotime Langlois de Swarte v, Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal
Label: Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS130 (2CD)