The Darkness is No Darkness for SATB Choir (Organ ad lib.): SATB Choral Octavo

Bingham's decision to create a choral fantasy on Wesley's beloved hymn tune gives you a complete liturgical package: you program both works together, and the fantasy deepens the original tune rather than overshadowing it. The writing balances technical challenge with genuine musicality, so your singers feel rewarded by the effort.

The music moves with quiet dignity through layered harmonies, creating moments of transcendent beauty as the voices weave around the hymn tune. There's an intimate, meditative quality that feels less like a performance and more like a shared moment of reflection.

Accomplished community choirs, collegiate ensembles, and church choirs with solid sight-reading skills and experience managing divisi sections will find this rewarding. Directors seeking a substantial sacred work that pairs intellectual challenge with spiritual depth will connect with this piece.

• Rehearse the organ part separately with your accompanist early in the learning process; the part shapes phrasing and supports the choir's entry points throughout.
• Mark breath points clearly in the divisi sections so singers know which phrase belongs to their line and can sustain through longer harmonic passages.
• Balance the texture by reminding singers that this is a meditation on a hymn, not a rousing anthem; lean into the contemplative quality rather than pushing for dramatic volume.
• Consider having S.S. Wesley's original carol precede this work in your concert or service, as Bingham designed this piece to follow that performance.

Pair this with Wesley's original 'Thou Wilt Keep Him in Perfect Peace' as a single program item, allowing the fantasy to deepen the hymn's familiar melody through fresh harmonic exploration. This also works as a substantial anthem in a church service where the hymn has already been sung by the congregation earlier.

• Reading and executing divisi passages in SATB voicing
• Balancing independent melodic lines within a harmonic context
• Sustaining tone through longer phrases with minimal breathing opportunities
• Responding to organ accompaniment as a structural partner rather than background support
• Interpreting sacred text with restraint and clarity