Madrigals Closing

  As I’m sure many of you are aware, the Madrigals repertoire is very similar every year. Wassail, Masters in this Hall, and Fair Phyllis just to name a few. Any Uni student who has been to the winter party could recognize them anywhere. There is variation in the line up, even if it might not be noticed by everyone, meaning some years we exclude some songs and add other ones. The core, however, usually does not change. One such song which stays time after time is the one we always end performances with: “Madrigals closing”. 

Musically, it is a fairly simple piece and not very difficult to learn. There are however a few tricky moments. The sheet music itself is handwritten, copied by Mr. Murphy from some ancient Madrigals song book. While giving a charming sort of character to the presentation, there have also been slight problems because of its imperfect nature. For example, in the second system it says “Homeward toil the loaded wains”, and because the o and the i are written so close together, during the first few rehearsals every year there are scattered instances of “tail” as the pronunciation from the new members. It is a very easy problem to correct but it is interesting to hear every year. 

My sister, though not a madrigal, has also learned this piece. She is 9 years old, a soprano, and also a pianist which is very helpful since I only know enough piano to sort of sight read my part in vocal pieces. Over the course of the pandemic, with our free time so extended, my sister and I went through my madrigals folder and I taught her the soprano line of almost all of our pieces. She has a few favorites, “My Heart Doth Beg” and “Carol of the Angels” being among her top requests without fail, but none she has learned so quickly or memorized so easily as the Madrigals Closing. We sometimes use it as a warm up, though much more frequently in true Madrigal style it is the last piece we sing. 

I have a great deal of memories associated with this piece, each better than the last. Whether it be with the full group in costume at the president’s house or with my sister in our living room, or even just humming by myself while I work, I have been newly entranced each time I have sung it. It is meaningful to me not because of its lyrics but because of the people and places I have known in the context of its performance. It is in a sense symbolic of this time in my life. A deeper version of the same feeling you get when you hear a song from a musical you did a long time ago or an orchestra piece you played as a freshman. If you don’t remember which one it is, listen for it at the winter assembly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.