Eugene Chassaignac

Eugene Chassaignac
Born1820
Nantes, France
DiedJanuary 25, 1878(1878-01-25) (aged 57–58)
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
GenresEarly American Music
Occupations
  • Composer
  • Musician
  • University professor
InstrumentPiano
Years active1840–1878
SpouseElvire Porche
Notable workWar to the Yankees
Confederate Land
ChildrenCharles Louis Chassaignac
RelativesEdouard Chassaignac

Eugène Chassaignac (1820 – January 25, 1878) was a French-American musician, professor, composer and music critic. Eugene was a prominent member of the New Orleans community and is known for desegregating Scottish Rite Freemasonic lodges in New Orleans in 1867 for which he won a gold medal. Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi personally sent Eugene a letter of praise for his courageous act of kindness towards people of color.[1][2][3] His son Charles Louis Chassaignac became a prominent doctor in New Orleans and worked for Charity Hospital and was a humanitarian.[4] His daughter Marie Chassaignac married Baron Randolph Natili. Natili's parents were involved in an interracial marriage and he was a member of the prominent Creole Dimitry Family.[5] Natili became closely associated with Italian American composer Giuseppe Ferrata because of the marriage of his first cousin's daughter Alice. Natili's relationship with his father-in-law Eugene benefited Ferrata because of Natili's knowledge and appreciation for musical composition.[6][7]

Eugène was born in Nantes, France in 1820. He studied music with French author and playwright Ludovic Halévy in Paris, France. Eugène eventually settled in New Orleans, Louisiana where he wrote about theater and music for the French-language newspapers Le Moniteur du Sud, La Chronique, Le Meschacébé, and Le Louisianais. He taught music in New Orleans and created a significant number of musical compositions including a comic opera entitled La Nuit aux echelles, which was performed in 1850 at the Théâtre de St. Martinville. Most of his music manuscripts were destroyed in a fire in Morgan City at his wife's home after his death. Some of his compositions survived and are part of the collection of Duke University and the Library of Congress.[8][7]

  1. ^ "Colored Masons - Letter from Garibaldi" (PDF). Lowell Daily Citizen and News, Volume 17, No. 3453. Lowell, Mass: Lowell Daily Citizen. August 10, 1867. p. 2, col. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  2. ^ Barthé, Jr. 2021, pp. 82–83.
  3. ^ Hirsch & Logsdon 1992, p. 235.
  4. ^ Moulton 1906, pp. 51–52.
  5. ^ Pecquet du Bellet 1907a, p. 188.
  6. ^ Eanes 1995, p. 103.
  7. ^ a b Lemmon, Alfred E. (October 3, 2012). "Eugene Chassaignac". New Orleans, LA: 64 Parishes Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  8. ^ Writers, Staff (2024). "CHASSAIGNAC, Eugène, composer, music critic". Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana Historical Association. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.