It was August of 1789 before Rosetti was settled in Ludwigslust and ready to assume his duties as Kapellmeister to Friedrich Franz I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. At thirty-nine years of age, Rosetti was an accomplished composer with an impressive list of works to his credit. His orchestral and chamber music was dispersed widely in both manuscript copies and printed editions, many of which were issued by some of the foremost music publishers of the day. Critics praised his gift for lyric melody and his imaginative orchestration. Passages from his compositions were cited in theoretical manuals, and reviewers regularly recommended his work to the musical public. In his new environment, freed from the continual financial worries that had plagued his years at Wallerstein and with the support and encouragement of a sensitive and generous patron, Rosetti was able to concentrate more on artistic matters.

The Court of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

During its long history the land of Mecklenburg had come under the control of several aristocratic families. In 1701, the Treaty of Hamburg partitioned the Mecklenburg lands into the dukedoms of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Mecklenburg-Schwerin.2 The former was to gain a permanent place in history textbooks, when, in 1761, King George III of England (1738–1820) chose as his Queen Consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744–1818).

The Mecklenburg-Schwerin court had long fostered a tradition of musical excellence dating back to the establishment of the Hofkapelle in 1701 under Duke Friedrich Wilhelm (1675-1713; r. 1692–1713).