Exsultate, jubilate K. 165, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

 was written in 1773.

This religious solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 motet

Motet

In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...

 was composed at the time Mozart was visiting Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

.
It was written for the castrato

Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...

 Venanzio Rauzzini

Venanzio Rauzzini

Venanzio Rauzzini was an Italian castrato, composer, pianist and singing teacher. As a boy he was a member of the Sistine Chapel Choir and was a pupil of Domenico Corri and Muzio Clementi. He also studied with Giuseppe Santarelli in Rome and Nicola Porpora in Naples.Rauzzini was born at Camerino...

, Mozart's favourite for his opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s, who had been Cecilio in Lucio Silla

Lucio Silla

Lucio Silla, K. 135, is an Italian opera in three acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was written by Giovanni de Gamerra.It was first performed on 26 December 1772 at the Regio Ducal Teatro in Milan....

the previous year. Mozart made slight revisions around 1780. In modern times, the motet is usually sung by a soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

.

It is divided into three parts:

1. Allegro
   Tempo
   In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
   
   
2. Andante
   Tempo
   In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
   
   
3. Allegro

The final allegro section is an "Alleluia," "a jewel of a piece with its high spirits and its wit ... its music speaks unmistakably of his relaxed high spirits at the time he wrote it and of the elation and confidence that his opera-house success at brought him".

Although nominally for liturgical use, the motet has many features in common with Mozart's concert arias, such as those drawn from his operas. Mozart also used elements of concerto form in this motet.