Notes of a Pianist/Biographical Sketch/Chapter 1
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
CHAPTER I.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk, the Pianist and Composer, and the only American master of the modern school of music, was a native of New Orleans in the State of Louisiana, in the United States of America. His father was an Englishman, born in London; his mother a Creole, born in New Orleans. It is probable, if not certain, that what rendered Gottschalk so attractive was due to the two natures which he thus inherited, for he possessed the warmth of heart which characterizes the Creole, and the dignity of manner so peculiar to the English. His ancestors on his mother's side, all of noble French origin, were residents of the island of St. Domingo. His great-grandfather, Antoine de Bruslé, Chevalier of the royal and military Order of St. Louis, was commandant or governor of the quarter of the Grande Rivière, parish of St. Rose, in the northern part of the island. His son, Theodat Camille de Bruslé, when the British took possession of St. Domingo, received a commission in the British West India Army of George III. as ensign, and afterwards as captain of the Chasseurs of St. George, in the regiment of Colonel the Baron de Montalembert, raised in St. Domingo for the defence of the island. In the terrible insurrection and massacre which took place after the British abandoned the island, Commandant de Bruslé was killed, and Captain de Bruslé escaped with others to various West India islands, and to Louisiana, then in possession of the French Government. On the 16th of January, 1800, Captain de Bruslé, who had fled to Jamaica, entered into a contract of marriage with Miss Marie Josephine Alix Deynaut, who had likewise escaped with her father, Lieutenant Louis Christophe Deynaut, and, her mother, Lady Marie Therese Vallade, from the island. After the marriage of Captain de Bruslé he emigrated with his wife and her father's family to New Orleans. Several children were the fruit of this marriage, among whom was Miss Aimee de Bruslé, remarkable for her beauty, her wit, and musical genius. Miss de Bruslé at the age of fifteen was married to Mr. Edward Gottschalk, a broker, of great reputed wealth, much esteemed as a gentleman of fine culture, and remarkable as a linguist,—he spoke eight or nine languages. On the 8th of May, 1829, Mrs. Gottschalk gave birth to her eldest son, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, the subject of this sketch. He was named Moreau after an uncle on his mother's side, the Count Moreau de I'lslet.
From his birth he was a precocious but rather delicate child, and early displayed a taste for music, singing all the tunes he heard played. The cholera, in 1831, took from him a little sister, and left his mother, who had also been attacked with the disease, at death's door. Her physician having ordered a change of air, his father purchased a property at Pass Christian, on the Gulf of Mexico, where he decided to settle and reside until his wife's health should be perfectly restored.
At this time it was a charming but wild and almost uninhabited spot. The change of scene and air seemed to have the desired effect. Mrs. Gottschalk began to improve, and Moreau, then about three years of age, seemed to take new life amidst the beauties of nature which surrounded him; his health became invigorated, and he followed his father in all his rambles, which he, a great lover of nature, took morning and evening.
Madam Gottschalk, who, since her health had been impaired, sang only at intervals, resumed again her youthful occupation (she was then only nineteen years old), and once more commenced studying singing. Moreau, seated alongside of her on a little stool, listened attentively to his mother, without, however, her observing the extraordinary interest which the child manifested for the music. One day, when she had been practising very assiduously the grand air of 'Grace,' from the opera of 'Robert le Diable,' feeling fatigued, she retired into her chamber, leaving her child alone in the room, when, frightened by the sound of the piano, she quickly got up, as the Indians, to whom nearly the whole place belonged, were never backward in committing depredations. The first thought of the young wife was, that one of them had obtained an entrance into the house, and, attracted by the sight of the unknown instrument, had endeavoured to learn for himself the nature of the thing; when, carefully opening the door, she saw the child standing on a stool with a preoccupied air, with his little hands on the piano, endeavouring to find the keys of the notes he ought to strike. His mother, utterly astonished, did not speak to him, but watched what he was doing, when, to her extreme surprise, the child reproduced the air which she had sung a quarter of an hour before. The cry of pride given by the young mother attracted the negro servants, and, to the great terror of many of them, they were listeners to the first musical essays of one of the greatest pianists that ever were born. The eldest of the negroes shook their heads and whispered the word "zombi," which in the negro tongue signifies devil; the younger ones looked on admiringly, and taking, with respect, the little hands of the child into their own, kissed them. At Mr. Gottschalk's return the circumstance was related to him, and to the great chagrin of his wife he instantly decided that instead of remaining he would endeavour to dispose of the property and return to the city, for the purpose of securing to the child a perfect musical education.
Like an opening flower the nature of the child developed itself little by little. His heart was so tender that he could not bear to see any one around him suftering. One day, when his parents had taken him with them to pay a visit to a lady some distance from home, the child was painfully struck at the sight of a negress who had the "carcan" (a species of round wooden instrument, fastened by a padlock placed around the neck of negroes as a punishment, which prevents them from lying down—kept on sometimes for two or three months) around her neck. As in the city they were less cruel to their slaves than in the country where there were no magistrates to enforce the laws, Moreau, never before having seen a carcan, turned his head from the sight with horror, and demanded, to her great mortification, an explanation from Madam , to whom the slave belonged. She endeavoured to make the child understand that the negress had deserved the punishment, and that he need not pity her. Nothing, however, could calm him, and he besought his father to buy Sarah. His father becoming quite embarrassed, Madam took up the matter seriously, and proposed to sell Sarah, who, she said, was only good to mind the chickens. The bargain was completed, and Mr. Gottschalk made the child a present of Sarah, who became a devoted servant to him, and afterwards the child's-nurse to all his after-born brothers and sisters.
His obedience was remarkable, and his affection for his mother amounted almost to idolatry. His father, although kind, was what is called strict, and brought up his little child in the most elevated ideas, and never permitted him the indulgence of any weakness. At three years of age, he engaged in conversation pertaining to a child of seven, and already seemed to understand the extent and importance of the duties which his father placed before him. "When Moreau shall have brothers and sisters," he would say, "papa counts upon his working for them, and he must think beforehand that they will have a father in Moreau." The little child understood all, and seemed in advance to adopt the prospective family which his father at a later period bequeathed to him.
Summer passed, and when autumn came it was decided that the whole family should return to New Orleans. As long as the summer lasted, Madam Gottschalk was sorry at the prospect of quitting so charming a spot, but, when the first approach of winter brought the Indians from the depths of the forest to the neighbourhood of the dwelling, her regrets were lessened, particularly so, as one day, when greatly occupied in making cakes for dessert, her beautiful white arms being exposed, a passing Indian stopped in admiration of her beauty and made an attempt to kiss them. She called for help, and the man of the woods went laughing away.
This incident decided her, and the month of November saw them all again settled in New Orleans.