Just like the immortal Messiah of Handel, this lovely little gem for soprano and orchestra is in grave danger of becoming known to the wider musical public solely by one movement. And again, that one movement is an Alleluia.
That Alleluia is one of the great warhorses of the soprano repertoire, a real showstopper for a singer. The maddening thing, for me at least, is struggling for a chance to hear the entirety of Mozart's cantata, Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165, in a live performance. Mozart wrote this delightful work in Milan in 1773, at the ripe old age of 17. The identity of the author of the text is unknown, but it may have been Vananzio Rauzzini, the Italian castrato for whom Mozart wrote the music.
But just try to hear the entire work in a live performance. Three times in my life now, I've had the experience of going out of my way to attend a concert where this work was listed on the programme -- and all they did was the Alleluia!
Well, here's to make up for it. I found this beautiful video performance of the complete four-movement cantata. There are actually a number of such video performances available. Although the video post lacks documentation, it's easy to see that the venue is the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
Neither the orchestra nor the conductor are identified in the clip, but the singer is -- the glorious American soprano Renee Fleming.
As any one of her legions of fans might predict, Fleming acquits herself splendidly. The huge space of the Royal Albert Hall could certainly be said to be too large for authentic performance of Mozart, but the orchestra is suitably sized up while still maintaining a light and transparent sound appropriate for this music. In a performance that is necessarily bigger than usual in scale, Fleming's voice strikes the necessary balance between agility and power.
And there's no doubting Renee Fleming's ability to sing this charmer with style. Ravishing high notes combine with soaring lyrical phrases in the slow movement, Tu virginem corona. Natural speech rhythms highlight the second movement recitative. Both the opening movement and the final Alleluia show her nimbly negotiating the florid runs, and the cadential pauses in the first and third movements find her interpolating stylish but not overdone cadenzas. In the closing bars of the work she tosses in some sparkling additional ornamentation to highlight the final repetitions of Alleluia.
If you're not familiar with this beautiful gem, this video is a great way to make its acquaintance.
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