The holly and the ivy - Old French Air
Carols
| Music: | Old French Air | |
| Voicing: | SATB | |
| Words: | Traditional collected by Cecil Sharp |
The holly and the ivy,
when they are both full grown,
of all trees that are in the wood,
the holly bears the crown:
when they are both full grown,
of all trees that are in the wood,
the holly bears the crown:
O, the rising of the sun,
the running of the deer,
the playing of the merry organ,
sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a blossom,
as white as lily flower,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
to be our dear Saviour:
as white as lily flower,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
to be our dear Saviour:
The holly bears a berry,
as red as any blood,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
to do poor sinners good:
as red as any blood,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
to do poor sinners good:
The holly bears a prickle,
As sharp as any thorn,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
on Christmas Day in the morn:
As sharp as any thorn,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
on Christmas Day in the morn:
The holly bears a bark,
as bitter as the gall,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
for to redeem us all:
as bitter as the gall,
and Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
for to redeem us all:
The holly and the ivy,
when they are both full grown,
of all trees that are in the wood,
the holly bears the crown:
when they are both full grown,
of all trees that are in the wood,
the holly bears the crown:
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The Stairwell Carollers
The Holly and the Ivy is a traditional Christmas carol, which is among the most lightly Christianised carols of the Yuletide the holly and the ivy being among the most familiar Druidic plants. “Holly and ivy have been the mainstay of Christmas decoration for church use since at least the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when they are mentioned regularly in churchwardens accounts” (Roud 2004).
Most of the text was collected by Cecil Sharp from a woman in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. This carol is probably related to an older carol: “The Contest of the Ivy and the Holly,” a contest between the traditional emblems of woman and man respectively.
Holly stands in the hall, fair to behold:
Ivy stands without the door, she is full sore a cold.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.Holly and his merry men, they dance and they sing,
Ivy and her maidens, they weep and they wring.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.Ivy hath chapped fingers, she caught them from the cold,
So might they all have, aye, that with ivy hold.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.Holly hath berries red as any rose,
The forester, the hunter, keep them from the does.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.Ivy hath berries black as any sloe;
There come the owl and eat him as she go.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.Holly hath birds a fair full flock,
The nightingale, the popinjay, the gentle laverock.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.Good ivy, what birds hast thou?
None but the owlet that cries how, how.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Metasyntactic variable".
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1
review
Roger Bush
22 Nov 2020
Thank you for a beautiful rendition of this lovely old French tune. Infinitely better than the other traditional tune which is so dull and repetitive. I first heard this tune when King's College Chapel Choir sang it in their 2010 Festival of Lessons and Carols in a great arrangement by the Australian organist June Nixon. I was so taken with this tune that I was moved to compose a set of five variations on it which are published. Here's a link to a video of my performance of it showing the first page of each variation. I will send you a pdf copy of the whole score if you wish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-pRqLRjEDY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-pRqLRjEDY
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