Wassail!

Thursday evening, Linda and I braved the cold and sat down with a couple hundred hardy folk to enjoy the Johnston High School Concert Choir's Madrigal Dinner. A combination of dinner, theatre, and concert, these productions help set me in a holiday mood.

As is the tradition, we were announced with trumpet fanfare and then escorted to our table. We were located at the second table from the front and middle in our "row;" neither on the central aisle nor the aisle along the wall. Our views of nearly everything were very good. I was quite pleased with our spot but wished they allowed photography.

When full, our table of eight included a family of four, two retired ladies, and us. The two ladies arrived shortly after us; both Iowa Girls, they, like Linda, had never been to a madrigal dinner before and were looking forward to the experience. The mother and younger son in the family of four arrived next; her husband was going to be working another hour and he would be bringing their older son.

Right on time, the lights dimmed and a hush fell quickly over the room. The trumpet sounded and we all waited for the announcement that the King and honored guests were entering; instead, it was another couple, a bit embarassed to be so "honored." As they were seated, the Court Jester lead the procession of singers in great medieval costumes into the hall; the performance had begun.

The jester had a good time teasing the king's attache of protocol about nearly anything he said but we soon learned there were murmurs of dragons in the area. The attache, not convinced had sent forth messengers to the surrounding kingdoms to inquire whether there was truth in these rumors. Word returned that one of the kingdoms was no more... not good news.

As luck would have it, the Fraduchi brothers, travelling peddlers, were being escorted into the hall by the king's guards at that moment. Quickly sizing up the market, they shared that they were known throughout the land as the only real option for dragon insurance. From time to time throughout the remainder of the show, the Fraduchi brothers, the jester, and the attache negotiated the terms of their policy. In the end, the scheming Fraduchi's were exposed and the kingdom preserved.

Our dinner included a small glass of wassail (mulled apple cider), a small lettuce salad, a variety of dinner rolls, a full chicken breast, rice pilaf, carrots, and a pudding of some sort; the pudding was flaming before it was served at our tables. Served in courses throughout the performance, it was a very suitable meal. The only objection I heard was that the pudding was not a bread pudding and that it was a bit dry.

The music was generally familiar but I was pleased to hear some new pieces. The voices were good, as expected. One duet by two girls from the servers was particularly noteworthy. Most of those honored at the King's Table had good voices, a few were very good. The candlelight recessional gave us a few moments to linger in the soft glow before bundling up to head back home. It was a nice time to set apart, to have a little celebration.