From the Organist & Choirmaster

This Sunday, All Saints’ Sunday, the parish choir will sing Harold Darke’s Communion Service in E, a setting of the ordinary beloved by many for its radiant lyricism, expressiveness, and balance between reverence and grandeur. Written in the early twentieth century, this work captures the essence of the English cathedral sound: rich in harmony, noble in melodic line, and deeply rooted in the tradition of choral worship.

Darke composed this setting while serving as organist of Saint Michael’s Cornhill, London, where he spent nearly fifty years shaping one of the capital’s most distinguished parish music programs. The Communion Service in E is referred to as the Collegium Regale for it being written for the “Royal College” (King’s College). It reflects both his mastery of Anglican choral style and his sensitivity to the liturgy of the Mass. The Gloria soars with exultant energy, while the Sanctus and Benedictus display an inward, devotional warmth that invites one into prayerful reflection.

Harold Darke was one of the great English organist-composers of his generation. Born in London and educated at the Royal College of Music, he studied composition with Charles Villiers Stanford, whose influence can be heard in Darke’s melodic clarity and harmonic richness. In 1916 he became organist at Saint Michael’s Cornhill, a post he held (with a brief wartime interruption where he covered for Boris Ord at King’s College, Cambridge) until 1966.

Darke’s long career spanned both world wars and the great flowering of Anglican choral music in the twentieth century. He was a revered teacher and performer, renowned for his interpretations of Mac and his improvisational skill. His most famous work, the carol In the Bleak Midwinter, has become a fixture of Christmastide worldwide. Yet his liturgical compositions, particularly the Communion Service in E and the Evening Service in F, stand among the finest examples of English church music of their era.