The music of French-Caribbean musician Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) is remarkable. Not so much that it is in itself outstanding for the 18th century, but that it was created by the son of an enslaved woman from Guadeloupe, who had been raped by a slave owning father. Moved to France by his father aged seven, he was educated in France. Joseph was an outstanding violinist, swordsman, a poet, and his music would (had it not been for his skin colour) given him the prize of conductor of the Paris Opera under Louis XVI. Caught up in the revolution he served as a colonel of the Légion St.-Georges, established in 1792 which comprised "citizens of colour". He was imprisoned during the "reign of terror" and died in relative poverty in Paris in 1799. Lost to obscurity for many years after Napoleon's reinstatement of slavery in the French colonies in 1802, his music has undergone a 21st century revival. I have recently listened to a selection of St George's music, and it has been performed at the Proms, and elsewhere.

This 2023 film is a biopic of Joseph's life from age seven until just before the Revolution. It is very light on historical accuracy, and equally scant in the extracts used of his music. The Queen, Marie Antoinette, features heavily, as does his politically active friend, Louis Philippe, later Duke of Orléans, and his patron Madame de Montesson. Mozart even gets a walk on part in the first few scenes of the film, with a cringe making "battle of the violins". St Georges comes across as an ego big enough to rival even Mozart's. Obviously we get many examples of bullying and racism, plus rather heavy handed tactics from the Marquis de Montalembert, whose wife Joseph was supposed to have seduced. The end of the film, as the mob starts to get agitated and the revolution kicks off, was a little contrived. It gave St Georges a central role in promoting the "rights of man", and he also insulted the Queen directly, whilst drunk, for which in reality he would have lost his head. The film was however good fun, and the scenes of 18th century Paris (although rather clean and tidy!) looked splendid.