Twelfth Night Revelers At Newtown Congregatioanl Church

Twelfth Night was celebrated in high style at the Newtown Congregational Church, 14 West Street, Friday, January 2, with some 20 participants singing, dancing, and making merry, followed by a great feast of meat pies, freshly baked bread accompanied by churned butter and various fruit jams, strong cheeses with pears, apples, and other fruit, and plenty of hot spiced cider to slake the thirst. A large cake decorated with “Happy New Year” pleased all with a sweet tooth. The reception, in Renaissance style, was prepared by Maureen Kelly and members of the music committee.

The program began with the sounds of Wendy Kerner Lucas’s gilded harp providing a warm welcome to the audience. There followed the processional entrance of the colorfully garbed choristers, minstrels, and maids performing music from the Middle Ages and from the Renaissance, but also from later composers, in the form of a capella, in solos, duets, and multipart harmony. Interwoven were readings from Genesis, the prophet Isaiah, Geoffrey Chaucer, and T.S. Eliot.

Newtown Congregational Church choir director Dan Coffman told the story of the miraculous birth of Christ from the point of view of a cow in the stable. A recalcitrant donkey (Peter Coffman) was led to the stable by an exasperated jester (Patrick Coffman), which provided levity to the evening.

Music sung by the choir, under the direction of Mr Coffman, included pieces from the 12th Century Fleury and the 16th Century Thomas Ford, but also the 20th Century’s Benjamin Britten, Francis Poulenc, Paul Hindemith, and Harold Friedell, together with English traditional hymns and songs suitable for the season. An interlude featured the solo performance by Ms Lucas.

The Three Kings astonished the audience with a jazzy version of the classic Christmas carol, “We Three Kings,” eliciting spontaneous applause.

A king, Gary Peters, and a queen, Linda Allen, were chosen at random from the audience to preside on thrones over the festive proceedings.

Many of the elaborate costumes, including hats with plumes, were created by NCC member Karen Keating. The evening culminated with the traditional Boar’s Head paraded down the aisle accompanied by wishes for a “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”