?The holly and the ivy/When they are both full grown/Of all the trees that are in the wood/The holly bears the crown.? So go the opening words to this cheerful, upbeat Christmas song. The lyrics appeared as broadsides in early nineteenth century Birmingham, England. The melody was first published in Cecil J. Sharp?s 1911 English Folk-Carols; on page 63 of the collection?s ?Notes on the Carols? section, Sharp wrote that he heard the tune sung by "Mrs. Mary Clayton, at Chipping Camden." (An alternative version linked the words to a melody identified as "old French carol.") This version is a fast-moving and fun treatment of the Sharp/Clayton melody. It includes, among other things, a call-and-response variation, a running tuba solo, an alternative ?verse? tune and a countermelody section featuring ?Deck the Halls.? There are two key changes, trumpets play a couple of B-above-the-staff notes, and the time signature changes from ¾ to 4/4 near the end. Completed in 2016, this arrangement runs about 3 minutes, 20 seconds. Contact the arranger, Les Smith, at lessmith@ufl.edu. If you like this one, don?t miss Les? arrangements of ?Silver Bells,? ?Jingle Bells,? ?Jolly Old St. Nicholas,? ?Up On The Housetop,? ?Deck the Halls? and many other Christmas songs and carols. Enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box.

This brass quintet is scored with traditional instrumentation along with an optional trumpet part. The pieces is presented in a simplistic manner giving over to many opportunities for great expression. It is an intimate rendition of a reflection song.