?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 � 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.

"The Truth From Above," aka "[This Is] the Truth Sent From Above," and sometimes known as "The Herefordshire Carol," is an English folk melody that was collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909, used in his Fantasia on Christmas Carols (1912) and and published in Eight Traditional English Carols (1919).

Its text tells of God's creation of man and woman, their placement in Paradise, their sin and its subsequent consequences for all humanity, the nativity of Christ, His example and teaching, and His promise of salvation for all who believe in Him. Another text, "The Great Forerunner of the Morn," which tells of John the Baptist's preparation for the Christ, is also sung to the tune.

The Dorian-mode melody uses the first through fifth tones, and the seventh tone, of that mode. Although collected by Vaughan Williams just after the turn of the 20th century, its chant-like quality, both melodically and rhythmically, is reminiscent of centuries-old music.

This arrangement features solo tuba on the first presentation of the tune followed by the full ensemble in full harmony, a key change and canonic presentation by horn and trombone, and a return to the original key and concluding statement by full ensemble with harmonic variation.

?Angels We Have Heard on High? (?Gloria?) is a Christmas carol based on an 18th-century French noel, ?Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes.? The well-known English-language version of the carol with text by James Chadwick (1813-1882) retains the tune of the French noel, though Chadwick?s text is a largely original adaptation, with parts only loosely translated from the French. The carol commemorates the birth of Jesus as told in the Gospel of St. Luke, and its chorus recalls the ?multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ?Glory to God in the highest?.?? (Luke 2:13-14). The signature feature of the chorus is a rising and falling melisma on the ?o? vowel of ?Gloria? ? thus, the tune is often ascribed the name ?Gloria.? Its familiar harmonization was written by the American organist and composer Edward Shippen Barnes (1887-1958) in 1937. In this festive arrangement, the tune and refrain are presented multiple times in a variety of keys, harmonizations, and orchestration. �Copyright 2017 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com