On Madrigals
Why We Lost the Madrigal Feast and How We Can Get it Back
Helen Highberger and John-Clark Levin
Last Updated: 12/30/09 Section: Features
Twenty-six years ago, the first note was sung and first proverbial boar spitted of what would become in the next quarter-century a beloved institution at Claremont McKenna: the annual Madrigal Feast. It was a tradition as hallowed and time-honored at this young school as young love and late nights of procrastination, but infinitely more distinctive. On several nights each December, students, faculty and members of the community would gather together in the Athenaeum for a medieval-themed feast. As wassail flowed more freely than the mutton gravy, authentic madrigal music filled the hall. The tradition itself had its own many traditions - the carols, royal court, whisky pudding and commemorative glass mugs. Giving someone a piece of fruit, Madrigal lore held, entitled the giver to a kiss, and many a spring of mistletoe made felicitous appearance above sweethearts' heads.
But this year's December passed with none of that. Madrigal Feast had been canceled. There was no official announcement, so word spread slowly, and it wasn't until just weeks before the event's normal date that the student body realized what had happened. There was a sudden outpouring of bewilderment and anger, but it accomplished little to nothing with regard to reinstating Madrigals next year.
Learning that the decision to cancel Madrigals had been made by Athenaeum Director Bonnie Snortum, the Claremont Independent went right to the source. We asked her when the decision to cancel first came to the table. The story, she says, starts some five years ago with Chamber Choir Director Charles Kamm's withdrawal from the event. The Madrigal Feast, he said, wasn't the proper atmosphere for his choir to perform in, what with the eating, drinking and loud conversation that characterized each night. She says she prevailed on Kamm to stay another few years, but eventually he pulled out for good. In that year, 2007, ASCMC President Brad Walters '08 proposed a way to resurrect the event. Walters brought in a cappella groups from around the 5Cs for entertainment, and although Snortum recalls that it "wasn't the same," most students there at the time feel that this compromise managed to keep the spirit of Madrigals alive. A further concern to the Athenaeum staff, though, was drunkenness. Walters was emphatic in demanding high standards of decorum from the student body, stating in no uncertain terms that bad behavior would not be tolerated. His successor, however, Erik Hansell '09, sent out no such communications last year.
But this year's December passed with none of that. Madrigal Feast had been canceled. There was no official announcement, so word spread slowly, and it wasn't until just weeks before the event's normal date that the student body realized what had happened. There was a sudden outpouring of bewilderment and anger, but it accomplished little to nothing with regard to reinstating Madrigals next year.
Learning that the decision to cancel Madrigals had been made by Athenaeum Director Bonnie Snortum, the Claremont Independent went right to the source. We asked her when the decision to cancel first came to the table. The story, she says, starts some five years ago with Chamber Choir Director Charles Kamm's withdrawal from the event. The Madrigal Feast, he said, wasn't the proper atmosphere for his choir to perform in, what with the eating, drinking and loud conversation that characterized each night. She says she prevailed on Kamm to stay another few years, but eventually he pulled out for good. In that year, 2007, ASCMC President Brad Walters '08 proposed a way to resurrect the event. Walters brought in a cappella groups from around the 5Cs for entertainment, and although Snortum recalls that it "wasn't the same," most students there at the time feel that this compromise managed to keep the spirit of Madrigals alive. A further concern to the Athenaeum staff, though, was drunkenness. Walters was emphatic in demanding high standards of decorum from the student body, stating in no uncertain terms that bad behavior would not be tolerated. His successor, however, Erik Hansell '09, sent out no such communications last year.
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