The king preferred the Old Testament nod to King Herod’s edict in Bethlehem. The queen liked an angelic fanfare, in excelsis, of course.
This year’s installment of Singe Feaste, a holiday program by either Vicksburg or Warren Central High School’s madrigal and supplementary choirs, was a trek back in time with the VHS choir to 1510 and the royal courts.
“We order the scripts for the play from Knight Schtick Press and we alternate this every year with Warren Central,” VHS choir director Tracy Smithey said. “The students definitely hone their skills and learn about the Renaissance.”
Filling the airspace inside the Southern Cultural Heritage Center auditorium were the vocals and sounds of 74 vocalists, under the direction of Smithey and assistant director Angela Chapin.

“It’s the height of their vocal career in high school,” Smithey said.
In “The Truth Fairy,” the king, played by Jamison Watson, enlists the aid of a truth fairy, played by Ashley Erves, to help find a truthful person to succeed the Jester, the lone person whom the king trusted. In the play, the truth fairy can get the truth in anyone who approaches.
A program of 14 seasonal carols ended the two-hour Feaste, itself halved by dinner served by the junior high choir. Seven “fanfares” made up the bulk of the program, during which Watson, a junior, liked “Conventry Carol” from the list of carols. The tune is from a 16th century mystery play focusing on King Herod’s dubious orders from the Gospel of Matthew.
“I liked it because it’s just beautiful,” Watson said.
The queen, played by senior Darbie Woods, took to “And the Angels Sing”, also known by its chorus, “Gloria, gloria in excelsis.”
“It’s the one we all picked up the fastest,” Woods said.