CJ Replay: Early American vs Madrigal

(From the article "An Early American Alternative to the Traditional Elizabethan Madrigan Dinner," by John Silantien, published in the October, 1976, issue of the Choral Journal.)

 

        Each year many madrigal groups in the United States re-enact the elaborate Christmas celebrations which occurred at the English court of Elizabeth 1. The offerings often include Elizabethan vocal, instrumental, and dance music, as well as period, costume and dinner fare. However, might not a setting other than the usual Elizabethan format be employed tovary the musical and theatrical offerings of the traditional Christmas madrigal dinner? Our American heritage, for example, might provide the ingredients for an attractive presentation.

       The American colonists celebrated Christmas in even their earliest settlements. Despite a 1659 Puritan law forbidding any special observation of Christmas day, much evidence exists to prove that even in early New England there was an unbroken tradition of religious, social, and festive Christmas celebrations. The Anglican planters in Virginia, the Dutch in New York, the Germans in western Pennsylvania, and the French in Louisiana all maintained the Christmas traditions of their homelands. After the Revolution, Philadelphia's central location provided a melting pot for the various regional customs from around the country. As the nation's first capitol, Philadelphia became the meeting-place for statesmen, diplomats, and the latest   developments in fashionable entertainment.