Annual Madrigal Feast offers seasonal spirit

An IU tradition for more than 50 years, the Madrigal Feast is perennially presented in Alumni Hall to patrons wishing for good cheer, hot wassail and seasonal songs.\nOften unknown to students or seen as something archaic and uninteresting, the Madrigal Feast is usually well attended by families, IU faculty and Bloomington residents. But students usually do not know of the joy that the event can bring.\nThis being my fourth Madrigal Feast at IU, not only do I know what to expect and what not to expect, I also know what constitutes a good show, something special and worth the $35 that it costs. Knowing that budgets are tight, seeing a $35 ticket would fright nearly any student from attending. But, when taking into account what the Feast offers, the price of a ticket does not seem as daunting. \nBut, that does not mean that the Feasts are perfect. Union Board, the producing body, has a large yearly budget for their arts and it would not be a bad idea to, perhaps, shift their budgeting and give more money to the Madrigal Feast to further its returns in terms of quality.\nOne thing that this year's Madrigal Feast excelled in was the music. Musical director and graduate student Charles Prestinari chose both traditional and modern music as most would, but his choices gave an extra treat. His decision to bring John Rutter's "What Sweeter Music" and Benjamin Britten's "New Year Carol" added a majestic quality to the concert section.\nAs is usual, the meal at the Feast was filling and plentiful. Consisting of bread, salad, wassail cup (mixed fruit juices with savory spices), yorkshire pudding, vegetables and a thick prime rib of beef (vegetarian dishes also available), the meal could satiate any palate. Topping it off was the traditional figgy pudding replete with rum sauce -- a treat to bring anyone into the holiday spirit. \nThis year's setup in Alumni Hall, as usual, was decorated and created the atmosphere of a quaint, yet enchanting castle. The ambience of the feast is definitely the largest component to making it work and this year's feast definitely pulled it off.\nThe only part of the feast that was not completely wonderful was the revelers. While all were quite lovely and were unashamed to come around to all and make utter, yet lovely fools of themselves, they did not seem to be as funny as they had in the past. But, it must be said that this year they were lacking a Jester and they did not take themselves too seriously, which made it even less funnier in previous years.\nAll in all, the feast was a very nice success -- so much so that I had to pull out my 50th anniversary CD and look up recipes for various dishes featured at the feast for upcoming holiday gatherings. It is a tradition that should be viewed by all students wanting to get into the holiday spirit.