An end-of-year review of music in 2021 would have little trouble settling on its outstanding theme. In the wake of recent political and social upheavals there has been a big push all year to give black and women composers their due.
Among the forgotten names that have come to light is Joseph Boulogne, also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. As the first black composer of note in the western classical tradition, Boulogne (1745-99) has been the focus of intense interest and much of his music is being recorded for the first time.
Although born in Guadeloupe, he grew up in Paris, where he formed a close association with the composer Gossec and became celebrated first as a violinist, then conductor and composer himself. In parallel, he was a noted fencing champion, who once played an exhibition match in front of the future George IV in Brighton.
This disc features four of his Symphonies concertantes, Op 9 and 10, written when Boulogne was at his most prolific in the 1770s. They are buoyant and engaging works, part symphony, part concerto for multiple instruments, and the relaxed style will be familiar to anybody who enjoys the divertimentos or serenades of Haydn and Mozart.
His Symphony in G (1779) completes the programme, stronger in its classical architecture and more concentrated, as one would expect from a musician who conducted the first Paris performances of many of Haydn’s symphonies. The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice under Michael Halász gives lively, alert performances.
★★★☆☆
‘Joseph Boulogne: Symphonies concertantes’ is released by Naxos
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