Harold Edwin Darke (29 October 1888 – 28 November 1976) was an English composer and organist. He is particularly known for his choral compositions, which are an established part of the respertoire of

Anglican church music Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing '' a cappella'' or accompanie ...

. Darke had a fifty-year association with the church of St Michael, Cornhill, in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

Early life

Darke was born in

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

, London, the youngest son of Samuel Darke and Arundel Bourne. He and attended

Dame Alice Owen's School Dame Alice Owen's School (also known as Dame Alice Owen's or Owen's; referred to by the acronym DAOS) is an 11–18 mixed, partially selective secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England. It i ...

in Islington, and studied organ with

Walter Parratt Sir Walter Parratt (10 February 184127 March 1924) was an English organist and composer. Biography Born in Huddersfield, son of a parish organist, Parratt began to play the pipe organ from an early age, and held posts as an organist while sti ...

in Oxford and composition with

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the ...

at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

. He served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During his RAF service he married Dora Garland, at St Michaels Church, Cornhill, on 25 July 1918. Dora was a violinist and was the first woman to lead the Queen's Hall Orchestra.

Career

St Michael, Cornhill, London EC3 - Organ - geograph

His first organist post was at Emmanuel Church, West Hampstead from 1906 to 1911. He became organist at St Michael Cornhill in 1916, and stayed there until 1966, leaving only briefly in 1941 to deputise for Boris Ord as Director of Music at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It is widely accepted that the Cornhill Lunchtime Organ Recitals series begun by Darke in 1916 is the longest-running lunchtime organ concert series in the world. His midday recitals each Monday, playing Bach in the legato style of

Schweitzer Schweitzer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Schweitzer, German theologian, musician, physician, and medical missionary, winner of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize * Anton Schweitzer, opera composer * Brian Schweitzer, for ...

, made him a City institution.Webb, Stanley. 'Darke, Harold (Edwin)', in ''Grove Music Online (2001) The series has flourished under his successors Richard Popplewell 1966–1979 and the present organist, Jonathan Rennert, from 1979. Darke also served as professor for organ at the Royal College of Music from 1919 to 1969. Darke's work as Conductor of St Michael's Singers was crowned in 1956 (on the occasion of the Choir's 40th Anniversary) with first performances of a number of now well-established works composed especially for the occasion – notably ''An English Mass'' by Herbert Howells, ''Hierusalem'' by George Dyson, and ''A Vision of Aeroplanes'' by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Later life

Darke continued to be active in his later years. He recorded Elgar’s Organ Sonata in his early 70s and gave recitals at the Royal Festival Hall to mark his 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays. He died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, UK, aged 88 on 28 November 1976.

Compositions

His famous 1909 setting of

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...

's "

In the Bleak Midwinter "In the Bleak Midwinter" is a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti, commonly performed as a Christmas carol. The poem was published, under the title "A Christmas Carol", in the January 1872 issue of ''Scribner's Monthly,'' and was first c ...

" is often sung at the service of

Nine Lessons and Carols Nine Lessons and Carols, also known as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve. The story of the fall of humanity, the ...

, and at similar services around the world. In a poll of choral experts and choirmasters that was published in '' BBC Music Magazine'' on 7 December 2008, "In the Bleak Midwinter" was voted the greatest Christmas carol of all time. Comparing Darke's setting to another popular setting 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 ...

, Deputy Editor Jeremy Pound expressed the view that "While Gustav Holst's charming setting of 1909 is rightly loved by millions worldwide, it is the less well known but infinitely more stylish setting by Harold Darke from two years later that convincingly won the day in our poll." Most of Darke's other compositions that are still performed are settings of the Anglican liturgy, especially his three Communion Services in E minor, F, and A minor; and his

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

and

Nunc Dimittis The Nunc dimittis (), also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a canticle taken from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 29 through 32. Its Latin name comes from its incipit, the opening words, of the Vulgate ...

in F. The short cantata ''As the Leaves Fall'', (1917), setting words by the soldier poet Joseph Courtney (1891-1973), has been recorded by the

Guildford Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is the Anglican cathedral at Guildford, Surrey, England. Richard Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral stands, with Viscount Bennett, ...

Choir, along with a later cantata, ''The Kingdom of God'' (1921), setting

Francis Thompson Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...

.''As the Leaves Fall'', Regent REGCD563 (2022), reviewed by ''MusicWeb International''
/ref> ;Organ *Suite in D minor: Prelude, Pastorale, Toccata *Prelude and Fugue on "Heinlein" *Rhapsody in E, Op. 4 *Prelude on "Windsor" *Prelude in Memory of Parry *''Three Hymn Preludes'', Op. 20: St. Peter, Darwall's 148th, On a Theme of Tallis *Fantasy in E, Op. 39 *''Meditation on Brother James' Air'' *''Retrospection'' *''Bridal Procession'' ;Choir * ''As the Leaves Fall'', Op. 26 (1917), soprano solo, SATB choir and orchestra *''In the Bleak Midwinter'' *''Communion Service in E minor'' *''Communion Service in F'' *''Communion Service in A minor'' *''Evening Service in F'' *''Harvest Cantata "The Sower" for Solo Quartet, Choir and Organ. Published (1929) by OUP *''Jubilate for chorus & organ in F major'' * ''The Kingdom of God'', Op. 31 (1921), soprano solo, SATB choir and orchestra *''O Brother Man'' *''O gladsome light'' *''

Psalm 10 Psalm 10 is the tenth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?" In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, it is not an indi ...

'' *''Te Deum for chorus & organ in F major''

References

External links

Brief biography
* *: a 1968 performance by Guildford Cathedral Choir, directed by

Barry Rose Barry Michael Rose OBE FRAM FRSCM HonFRCO (born 24 May 1934) is a choir trainer and organist. He is best known for founding the choir and the pattern of daily sung worship at the new Guildford Cathedral in 1961, as well as directing the music a ...

Recording of Darke's ''In the bleak midwinter''
fro
Coro Nostro
a mixed chamber choir based in Leicester, UK. {{DEFAULTSORT:Darke, Harold 1888 births 1976 deaths 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians British male organists Classical composers of church music English classical composers English classical organists English choral conductors English male classical composers People from Highbury Male classical organists Royal Air Force personnel of World War I