Exsultate jubilate

When Mozart was a young man, Italy was still paramount in certain (and probably most) musical genres. Above all else, Italian opera reigned as the pinnacle of the art. Hence the Mozarts, father and son, journeyed down through the Brenner Pass late in 1769—the father 50 years old, the son not quite 14. Both held high hopes that young Wolfgang would attain a position, perhaps in Milan, though they could more reasonably hope to secure a few commissions for specific compositions. And indeed before this trip had ended—the first of three pilgrimages to Italy—an opera for Milan had been requested from young Mozart (Lucio Silla). Father and son returned late in 1771 for the opera’s premiere, and their final trip began in October 1772. The brilliant Exsultate, jubilate was written and first performed during this trip, just before the Mozarts were recalled to Salzburg in January 1773. Their new employer, Archbishop Colloredo, was less willing to let his court musicians stay too long from home, so Leopold Mozart stalled (by claiming he was too ill to travel) while they pushed to find Wolfgang a position south of the Alps. It was not to be, however, and what we have is a remarkable treasury of souvenirs d’Italie.
Aptly described as “a condensed three-movement vocal concerto” (Maynard Solomon), Exsultate, jubilate testifies to Mozart’s mastery of the Italian vocal style. But this is not the operatic style that we know from his later compositions. Virtuosity takes center stage, and in design and florid style the work bears a strong resemblance to J. S. Bach’s cantata for solo soprano, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen. Some later commentators have been puzzled by Mozart’s description of his work as a “motet,” for it certainly does not have features of the motet as composed either before or after Mozart. However, the description is perfectly apt when one observes the definition given by J. J. Quantz in his treatise on flute playing (published in 1752 and certainly known by the Mozarts): “In Italy this name [motet] is applied at present time to a sacred Latin solo cantata that consists of two arias and two recitatives and closes with an Alleluia, and is sung by one of the best singers during the Mass after the Credo.” Mozart’s Exsultate has only one recitative, but in all other respects it exemplifies Quantz’s definition. It was written especially for Venenzio Rauzzini, the castrato lead in Mozart’s recently-composed Lucio Silla.
The opening aria shows the sonata-concerto form so familiar from later pieces: a complete exposition by the orchestra followed by the soloist’s exposition, modulation to the dominant, development, and restatement in tonic. Even a cadenza appears in its expected place. Mozart infuses the first F-major aria with stile galant touches, such as the ingratiating chromatic passing tones in the melody, thematic turn figures and appoggiaturas (accented dissonances), in addition to pastoral subdominant inflections and pedal tones in opening and closing passages. We hear touches of the coloratura brilliance, including the leap to high C in the cadenza, that will be fundamental to the work’s closing Alleluia. Following the transitional recitative, a second aria takes the place of concerto slow movement. Its form is identical to the opening aria, though contrasting tempo and tonality (A major here versus the F major heard earlier) provide adequate contrast. The tonal difference also prompts one of Mozart’s characteristically facile modulations, traversing the distance from A major (three sharps in its key signature) to F major (one flat) in a gesture of simple brevity and grace. In detail, the final A major triad of the second aria is turned to A minor, which opens the door to C major—the dominant harmony of our goal, F major.
It is little wonder that Exsultate, jubilate has retained its place in the concert repertory, as it combines Mozart’s prescient command of Italian vocal style with the concerto form of solo/ensemble interaction. And because of the heights later attained by Mozart in those two genres—Italian opera and the solo concerto—we look to this early work as a harbinger of genius.

(c) Jason Stell