From Thursday, December 4, to Saturday, December 6, parents and other students alike stepped into a medieval land, complete with a big tent and colorful decorations, to watch Ayala Choir’s 26th annual Madrigal Feaste (Mad Feaste) concerts. These performances were not part of your ordinary choir shows, as a four-course meal was served to all guests by mixed choir students to keep the audience satisfied as they listened to original Christmas songs.
As the audience settled into their seats with their loved ones, they admired the artwork that was posted throughout the tent, which was painted by Ayala’s AP art students, displaying the hard work of all students. The mixed choir started the performance with the opening songs, some of which included “Good Cheer” by Audrey Snyder and “Joy to the World” by Dan Forrest. This was then followed by a procession of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” by Dan Forrest.
“I thought the show was really well done, and I noticed all of the hard work that was put into it to make it turn out the way it did,” Bernice Amaziah (12) said.
Because this performance was medieval themed, not only were there decorations, but there was also a royal court to go along with the theme, including the king and queen Brandon Perez (12) and Kayla Huizar (12). Throughout this time, the royal court would walk around acting out scenes and interact with the crowd in between songs, making the performance more all the more entertaining.
Continuing the performance, mixed choir came back out and served Wassail, which is spiced apple cider, bread, and a green salad to all of the tables while listening to the “Gloucestershire Wassail” song. As the audience ate their salad, bread, and wassail, they watched members of the AHS dance program perform a Renaissance court dance to keep the audience entertained.
The main course was then served, which was a dinner of chicken, carrots, and potatoes, and was enjoyed by the audience as the men’s ensemble performed songs such as “Hodie” and “Glow”.
As everyone started to finish their meals, a friendly competition was held between each of the tables. Each table would sing a part of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as loud as they could, with their table numbers correlating with the part of the song they sang. This gave everyone a chance to have fun while they digested their food before going into the women’s ensemble.
“I thought it was great being able to perform with everyone. It really helped me bond with my peers,” women’s ensemble member Stacy Chowtham (10) said.
The Women’s ensemble performed songs such as “Tundra” with a solo by Zoe-Anne Valleroy, and “Children, Go Where I Send Thee” with solos from Isabelle Angeles and Vanessa Lee before the serving of the dessert of macrons, where “We wish you a merry Christmas” among other songs were performed.
Ayala’s vocal ensemble dominated the stage with their beautiful vocals in songs including “Hallelujah chorus” before welcoming the concert choirs to perform the final notes like “Ave Maria” and “Silent Night” to close it out. These final songs made singing difficult for the senior students, as they were all emotional that this would be their last Mad Feaste event that they would perform in.
“[Everything is] very bittersweet, because I’m happy that all the stress is done, but I’m also sad that it won’t happen again,” men’s ensemble member Julian Francisco (12) said.
Through the decorations, performances, and meal that was served, it was obvious that a lot of work went into making this the best it could have been. Now, with another Mad Feaste in the books, all members of Ayala’s choir can look forward to their next performance.
