Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
Mozart composed Exsultate, jubilate, his best known solo motet, for the famous soprano castrato Venanzio Rauzzini. Rauzzini (1746-1810) was born near Rome, became a principal at the opera in Vienna for several years, and served at the electoral court in Bavaria. The 16-year-old Mozart had come to know him at the end of 1772 in Milan, when the ducal court in that city hired him to sing in the premiere of the young composer's opera Lucio Silla. Mozart, who admired Rauzzini's singing, wrote the virtuosic Exsultate, jubilate for him a month later. It was premiered in a Milan church on January 17 of 1773, while the production of Lucio Silla was still running.
In the following year, Rauzzini moved permanently to England and established himself in 1777 at Bath, where he lived for the remainder of his life. There he directed a concert series, sang, composed a great deal of music, and became the esteemed teacher of many fine singers, among them Nancy Storace and Michael Kelly, both of whom later worked with Mozart in Vienna. One contemporary journal called him "the father of a new style in English singing." In 1794, he was visited at his home by Haydn, who was then staying in London. Seeing Rauzzini's bereavement at the loss of his beloved dog Turk, Haydn composed a canon setting the words on Turk's tombstone. A portrait of Rauzzini with his dog hangs in the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath.
Boston Baroque Performances
Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165
October 20 & 22, 2017
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Amanda Forsythe, soprano
May 7 & 8, 2010
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Michael Maniaci, soprano
February 4 & 6, 2000
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Sharon Baker, soprano
January 1, 1991
Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Patrice Michaels Bedi, soprano
August 24, 1989
King Ridge, New London, NH
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Sharon Baker, soprano
July 12, 1987
Castle Hill, Ipswich, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Jeanne Ommerle, soprano
January 15, 1987
St. Anselm’s College, Manchester, NH
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Sharon Baker, soprano
April 20, 1979
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Diana Hoagland, soprano