Date: Dec. 2 and 3, 2011 at 6 p.m.
Location: the Bistro Dining Room, seating starts at
6 p.m.
Tickets: $40, $55 and $60 based on seating and are available at the Information Desk at Guerrieri University Center.
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Office of Cultural Affairs
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On the nights of December 2nd and 3rd the diverse talents of Salisbury University will host the Madrigal Dinner, recreating the regal elegance of the Renaissance past through costumes, feast and pageantry.
The 7-Course Feast will be entwined with intervals of choral music, dancing and theatre, featuring; the Madrigal Choir, Recorder Minstrel, String Ensemble, The Herald Brass and Salisbury University Dance and Theater Students. Held in the Bistro Dining Room at the Commons and seating starts at 6 pm. Tickets are $40, $55 and $60 based on seating. Tickets are available at the Information Desk at Guerrieri University Center. Menu for the FeastThe culinary team at Salisbury University will recreate a lavish multi-course meal reflective of the traditional madrigal feasts of the time period including courses of soup, fish, beef, fowl, salad, dessert and, of course, the wassail. Each course will be heralded with a traditional song while elaborate “fantasy foods” will precede the serving of the actual course while reflecting the pomp and circumstance of the Renaissance feasts. Tickets for the feast range from $40 to $60 based on seating.
History of the Madrigal DinnerBetween 1350 and 1600 the Western world was transformed. An extraordinary wave of artistic and cultural innovation shattered medieval society and brought European culture reluctantly into the modern era. This wave, the Renaissance (the Rebirth) was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life. During the times of the Renaissance, feasts specifically referred to religious celebrations, which is why many Madrigal Dinners are held around Christmas time and occasionally include Christmas songs and pageants. A feast in the Renaissance included entertainment from local singers, musicians, actors and traveling jugglers. The Madrigal Dinner aimed to appeal to all the senses of the audience. The use of expensive ingredients during these feasts was essential. Sugar was used in many of the dishes such as fruit, quiches, nuts, and fritters to satisfy the guest’s tastes. The more lavish the food, the better the host appeared. Other extravagant dishes included veal and calves livers, as well as other food that may not have been easily obtained during the Renaissance era.
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