A long lost manuscript of Elgar’s arrangement of the French tune of The Holly & The Ivy arrived through a friend of mine who asked me to publish it. It was scored in 1899 for choir and orchestra for a concert in Worcester Cathedral, with Elgar conducting. It contains an interesting orchestral introduction and some subtle variations in the accompaniment. It received it second performance at Worcester Cathedral with the CBSO at the Three Choirs Festival and has since been recorded on the CBSO label. Extract below:
Elgar’s Holly & The Ivy is published by