''The Holly Bears The Crown'' is an album by

The Young Tradition The Young Tradition were an English folk group of the 1960s, formed by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood. They recorded three albums of mainly traditional British folk music, sung in arrangements for their three unaccompanied voices. ...

with

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

and

Dolly Collins Dorothy Ann Collins (6 March 1933 – 22 September 1995), was an English folk musician, arranger and composer. She was the older sister of Shirley Collins. Born in Hastings, Sussex (now East Sussex), she grew up in an artistic, socialist ...

and other guest musicians. The trio "The Young Tradition" (

Peter Bellamy Peter Franklyn Bellamy (8 September 1944 – 24 September 1991) was an English folk singer. He was a founding member of The Young Tradition and also had a long solo career, recording numerous albums and touring folk clubs and concert halls. He ...

, Royston Wood and Heather Wood) sang a cappella folk songs in a style similar to the

Copper Family The Copper Family are a family of singers of traditional, unaccompanied English folk song. Originally from Rottingdean, near Brighton, Sussex, England, the nucleus of the family now live in the neighbouring village of Peacehaven. The family first ...

. This album was recorded in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1969. A few weeks later musical and financial differences caused the break-up of The Young Tradition. Following the break-up, the record company refused to issue the album, which did not appear until 1995. By then Royston, Peter and Dolly were dead. Guest musicians Adam and Roderick Skeaping, here credited as 'The Skeapings', were members of "Musica Reservata" and had played on Shirley Collins albums. The only tracks on which everyone appears are the first song ("The Boar's Head Carol") and the last ("Bring Us in Good Ale"). Peter Bellamy later carved out a successful solo career; both Shirley and Dolly Collins also had successful careers both before and after (Shirley Collins has done more work in the folk music field than her sister). Two tracks are Shirley and Dolly Collins without the others. These later appeared on a compilation called ''The Classic Collection'' (ostensibly by Shirley Collins) in 2004.

Track listing

# "Prologue from "

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

"" (spoken) (

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

) # " The Boar's Head Carol" (Trad) # Shirley Collins and Heather Wood – "Is It Far To Bethlehem?" ( Frances Chesterton/ Trad) # " Lullay My Liking" (Trad) (tune by

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

) From a fifteenth-century text # " The Cherry Tree Carol" (Trad) (tune by Shirley Collins) # " Shepherds Arise" (Trad) (

) # Shirley and Dolly Collins – "I sing of a Maiden That Is Makeless" (to " I syng of a mayden", trad., tune by Dolly Collins). From the fifteenth century Sloane MS. # "Interlude: the Great Frost" (spoken) (

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

– "

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

"). A winter scene in Jacobean London # The Young Tradition with Dolly Collins and the Skeapings "

Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing-day" is an English carol usually attributed as "traditional"; its first written appearance is in William B. Sandys' ''Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern'' of 1833. However, it is almost certainly of a much earlier da ...

" (Trad). A shortened version of the song. # "A Virgin Most Pure" (Trad). A carol printed in 1822. # " The Coventry Carol" (Trad). A song taken from the

Coventry Mystery Plays The Coventry Mystery Plays, or Coventry Corpus Christi Pageants, are a cycle of medieval mystery plays from Coventry, West Midlands, England, and are perhaps best known as the source of the "Coventry Carol". Two plays from the original cycle ar ...

# " The Holly Bears the Crown" (Trad) # "March The Morning Sun" (

Royston Wood The Young Tradition were an English folk group of the 1960s, formed by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood. They recorded three albums of mainly traditional British folk music, sung in arrangements for their three unaccompanied voices ...

). Written as a Carol for St Stephen's Day # "Bring Us In Good Ale" (Trad) song dated to about 1460.

Personnel

* "The Young Tradition" consisting of Peter Bellamy, Heather Wood and Royston Wood – vocals * Shirley Collins – vocals * Dolly Collins – pipe organ * Adam Skeaping – bass viol * Roderick Skeaping – recorder * Narrations by Gary Watson * Instrumental arrangements by Dolly Collins {{DEFAULTSORT:Holly Bears the Crown, The Folk albums by British artists 1995 albums