Henry George Ley (30 December 188724 August 1962) was an English organist, composer and music teacher.The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, Henry George Ley
Retrieved 3 June 2022.Biographical Dictionary of the Organ, Dr. H. G. Ley
Retrieved 3 June 2022.

Early life and education

Born in

Chagford Chagford is a market town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign and the A382, 4 miles (6 km) west of Moretonhampstead. The name is derived from ''chag'', meaning gorse or broom, and ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, Ley was the son of the Rev. Gerald Lewis Henry Ley and Beatrice Emma Hayter-Hames. His father, his maternal grandfather and several other maternal relatives served as Rector of Chagford. Ley was a chorister at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

, a music scholar at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...

and in 1906 became an organ scholar at

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In 1908 he was president of the University Musical Club, and later he was an

exhibitioner An exhibition is a type of scholarship award or bursary. United Kingdom and Ireland At the universities of Dublin, Oxford, Cambridge and Sheffield, at some public schools, and various other UK educational establishments, an exhibition is a sma ...

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 ...

, where he was a pupil of Sir

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 ...

and

Marmaduke Barton Marmaduke Barton FRCM (29 December 186524 July 1938) was an English pianist, composer and teacher at the Royal College of Music for almost 50 years. Career Marmaduke Miller Barton was born in Manchester, the son of a United Methodist Free Chur ...

. His younger brother John William Ley was killed in 1917 during the

First World War 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 ...

, at the age of 19.Christ's Church, Oxford, Fallen Alumni, Private John William Ley
Retrieved 3 June 2022.

Career

Ley served as organist at St Mary’s,

Farnham Royal Farnham Royal is a village and civil parish within Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, immediately north of Slough (with which it is contiguous), and around 22 miles west of Charing Cross, Central London. Within the par ...

, from 1905 to 1906 and at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, from 1909 to 1926. He became a professor of organ at the Royal College of Music in 1919 and was precentor of

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and ...

and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, in charge of the chapel music, from 1926 to 1945. He was an Honorary Fellow of Keble College from 1926 to 1945. He died at

Feniton Feniton is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. The village lies about west of Honiton, north of Ottery St Mary, and east of Talaton. The parish of Feniton incorporates the hamlets of Colesworthy, Higher ...

in Devon in on 24 August 1962.

Works

Ley composed a number of choral works in the Anglican tradition, including anthems and chant settings. He also composed a setting of the ''Prayer of King Henry VI'', also known as the ''Founder's Prayer''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ley, Henry 1887 births 1962 deaths English classical organists British male organists People from the Borough of West Devon English classical composers 20th-century classical composers Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Composers for pipe organ Cathedral organists Classical composers of church music English Christians Alumni of the Royal College of Music Fellows of the Royal College of Organists Musicians from Devon English male classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians Male classical organists