Cossack Rondo from "Overture to The Exile," located in the Freedman collection.
Mazzinghi’s "Favorite Overture to The Exile, as performed with the greatest applause at the King’s Theatre" was published around 1821 in London by Goulding, D’Almaine & Co. The arrangement for pianoforte was likely composed in tandem with or soon after the London revival of The Exile on October 22, 1821.
The text and printing, save for some ornamentation on the title page, is fairly straightforward and unembellished. The overture is divided into four sections: an opening adagio, a vivace, a larghetto, and a final allegro spiritoso titled as “Cossack Rondo”. In each section of the overture, Mazzinghi makes a note of specific performers who had solos in each of the four sections. These include solo clarinetist Mr. Hopkins, solo oboist Mr. W. Parke, solo violinist Mr. W. Ware, and solo cellist Mr. Eley.
The music is straightforward, maintaining a primarily homophonic texture throughout. The melodies are simple and will often move in stepwise motion or arpeggiate within a chord. Chords are diatonic with few exceptions and the bass rhythm is usually accompanimental to the melodic line in the right hand. The rhythm is also simplistic, always in duple or triple and never alternating within a section.
The music does appear to engage in some exoticism, particularly in the Cossack rondo at the end of the work. Rondo form was frequently used by composers of the classical period to indicate a foreign setting, though in this example the form of the music is perhaps the only indicator of exoticism. While the story of The Exile does take place throughout Russia, the characters do not have exaggerated features or personalities meant to signify their Russianness. The characters are treated more as European than they are Russian, and the setting of Russia seems to serve more as set dressing for the story rather than a location of interest in and of itself. The Cossack rondo at the end of the opera overture is likewise uninterested in reflecting Russian musical motifs or themes. It is highly tonal and is firmly rooted in a Western style of music making. The main signifier of its exotic nature is simply the Rondo form.