Incantato Tours is uniquely qualified to arrange madrigal performances in traditional and historic venues throughout Europe, such as Germany's Hohenzollern Castle.
A madrigal is a type of secular vocal music composition, written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. A standard madrigal is characterized by polyphonic (consisting of two or more independent melodic lines) and a cappella (unaccompanied) melodies, with the number of voices ranging from two to eight, but most frequently three to six.
The earliest examples of madrigals date from Italy in the 1520s, and while the core of madrigal production remained in Italy, madrigals were also written in England and Germany, especially in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The madrigal was the most important form of secular music of its time. Unlike typical strophic secular music of the time, madrigals are through-composed, with music being written for the purpose of best expressing the sentiment of each line of a poetic text. Many of history’s most popular madrigals feature the texts of the great 14th century poet Petrarch.
In early 18th century England, singing of madrigals was revived by catch and glee clubs. As a result of printing a singing madrigals, particularly English ones, the madrigal became the best known form of Renaissance secular music, even before the rediscovery of Palestrina’s famous madrigal works.
In the United States, madrigal choirs are particularly popular in high school and college music departments, and often sing in the context of a madrigal dinner. Such events may include a play, Renaissance costumes, and instrumental chamber music.
Madrigal dinners or feasts are an American form of dinner theater and are most often held during the Christmas season. The theme is often reminiscent of either the Middle Ages or Renaissance eras and generally comedic in nature. The meal is divided into courses, each of which is typically heralded with a traditional song. A play is performed between the courses and a concert of choral music concludes the festivities.
The music performed at American madrigal feasts are usually mixed choral arrangements ranging from the medieval to Renaissance periods. Both secular and sacred Baroque pieces are common, although modern music with Renaissance or Biblical texts can be heard. Although the dinner takes its name from the madrigal genre of music, many other styles, especially Christmas carols, can be heard. Several commonly performed selections include The Wassail Song and the Boar’s Head Carol.
