Assignment: LE MOZART NOIR

LENGTH: A MINIMUM OF 2 PAGES

"Le Mozart Noir " is available on YOUTUBE . If you go to YOUTUBE and put in "Le Mozart" Noir, it will appear as "Le Mozart Noir: Reviving a Legend. It is divided into 5 sections.

Throughout the semester we have been listening to music originating in Western Europe However, we have not had the opportunity to hear any music composed by Classical composers of African descent.

"Le Mozart Noir" ("The Black Mozart") is a documentary based on the life of Joseph Boulogne, who was also known as the "Chevalier St. George." St. George, was a slave from Guadalupe. His father was a plantation owner of French ancestry and his mother was an African slave. St. George's father took both his son and his son's mother to Paris. His goal in doing this was to give his son the opportunity to live life other than that of a slave. In so doing, he also enabled him to develop his considerable musical talents and abilities.

Your essay is to be based solely on what you saw and heard in the documentary. You may include your impressions of the music you heard: For example, does it compare either positively or negatively to Classical music you might have heard. Were you surprised that St.George's father brought him and his mother to Europe? What were your thoughts as to how St. George was received in his new environment? Even thought St. George reached the top of his preofession, was he seen as a full member of Parisian society?

In spite of everything that he managed to accomplish, was he still subjected to the same racial attitudes and prejudice that people of color experience in today's world? Compare his struggles (by using specific examples in today's world and the world in which St. George lived) to explain how we are still struggling with the same racial issues that St. George faced during his lifetime.

Remember: Much of the documentary (and St. George's life) takes place during the "Age of Enlightenment" in Europe. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were also in France during this time period. The French Revolution also occurred during this era.

You may also include anything that you find to be of interest or important in you essay. Please understand that you are not being asked to treat this assignment as a biographical essay on the life of St. George!! You are being asked to write an essay that makes connections between how St. George was treated during his lifetime; in spite of all of his talent and abilities, and how he was not given the respect that his achievements and accomplishments demanded.

DO NOT USE ANY SOURCE OTHER THAN THIS DOCUMENTARY TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGHNMENT.