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Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title
Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with 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 the First World War, during which he composed the ''
Royal Air Force March Past'', and was music adviser to the
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, for whom he gave commended talks on music between 1924 and 1941.
Life and career
Early years
Henry Walford Davies was born in the Shropshire town of
Oswestry
Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads.
The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough ...
close to the
border with Wales. He was the seventh of nine children of John Whitridge Davies and Susan, ''née'' Gregory, and the youngest of four surviving sons.
[Dibble, Jeremy]
"Davies, Sir (Henry) Walford (1869–1941)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, online edition, January 2011, retrieved 6 December 2015 It was a musical family: Davies senior, an accountant by profession was a keen amateur musician, who founded and conducted a choral society at Oswestry and was choirmaster of Christ Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
, at which Walford was a chorister.
["Dr Walford Davies"]
''The Musical Times'', June 1908, pp. 365–370 Two of his other sons, Charlie and
Harold
Harold may refer to:
People
* Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Harold (surname), surname in the English language
* András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold"
Arts ...
, later held the post of organist at the church; the latter was professor of music at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
from 1919 to 1947. In 1882 Walford was accepted as a
chorister at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the organist,
Sir George Elvey.
[Ley, H. G]
"Davies, Sir (Henry) Walford (1869–1941)"
''Dictionary of National Biography'' Archive, Oxford University Press, online edition, January 2011, retrieved 10 December 2015
When his voice broke in 1885 Davies left the choir and later that year was appointed organist of the
Royal Chapel of All Saints
The Royal Chapel of All Saints or Queen Victoria's Chapel is a Grade II listed church in the grounds of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, England and is a Royal Peculiar, serving as an informal parish church for the inhabitants an ...
, Windsor Great Park and was secretary to Elvey's successor,
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 Dean (later Archbishop)
Randall Davidson
Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican priest who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the Reformation, and the f ...
.
[ At this time British universities, including ]Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a 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. Cambridge bec ...
, awarded "non-collegiate" music degrees to any applicant who could pass the necessary examinations. Davies entered for the Cambridge bachelor of music examinations in 1889, but his exercise (a cantata, ''The Future'', to words by Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lit ...
) failed. With the encouragement of 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 ...
, professor of music at Cambridge, Davies made a second attempt; it was successful, and he graduated in 1891.[
In 1890 Davies was awarded a scholarship in composition 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 perform ...
(RCM), London, where he was a student until 1894.["Davies, Sir (Henry) Walford"]
''Who Was Who'', online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014 His teachers there were Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is be ...
and (for a single term) Stanford for composition,[Ottaway, Hugh and Lewis Foreman]
"Davies, Sir Walford"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 10 December 2015 and W. S. Rockstro
William Smith Rockstro (5 January 1823 – 1 July 1895) was an English musicologist, teacher, pianist and composer. He is best remembered for his books, including music textbooks, music history and biographies of famous musicians.
Life and caree ...
(counterpoint), Herbert Sharpe (piano) and Haydn Inwards (violin). While still at the RCM he was organist of St George's Church, Campden Hill, for three months, and St Anne's Church, Soho
Saint Anne's Church serves in the Church of England the Soho section of London. It was consecrated on 21 March 1686 by Bishop Henry Compton as the parish church of the new civil and ecclesiastical parish of St Anne, created from part of the pari ...
for a year until 1891, when he resigned for health reasons.[ In the following year was appointed organist of ]Christ Church, Hampstead
Christ Church, Hampstead, is a Church of England church in Hampstead, London. It is a church with particular connections to the old village of Hampstead and the Heath.
Former Prime Minister Clement Attlee was married to his wife, Violet Attlee, ...
; he remained there until 1897, holding the post in tandem for the last two years with an appointment from 1895 as teacher of counterpoint at the RCM in succession to Rockstro, a post that he held until 1903.[ He considered resigning the post in 1896, when he failed the counterpoint paper in the Cambridge examinations for the degree of doctor of music; he was successful at his second attempt, and the doctorate was conferred in March 1898.][
]
National reputation
In May 1898 Davies was appointed organist and director of the choir at the Temple Church
The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...
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 ...
, a post he retained until 1923.[ With this appointment, in the view of his biographer, Jeremy Dibble, Davies began to be seen as a prominent figure in British musical life.][ As an organist he became well known both as a soloist and as a teacher – the most celebrated of his pupils being ]Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...
.[ As a conductor he directed the London Church Choir Association (1901–13) and succeeded Stanford at the ]Bach Choir
The Bach Choir is a large independent musical organisation founded in London, England in 1876 to give the first performance of J. S. Bach's '' Mass in B minor'' in Britain.
The choir has around 240 active members. Directed by David Hill MBE (Ya ...
(1902–07).[
As a composer Davies achieved his most substantial success in 1904, with his cantata ''Everyman'', based on the 15th century ]morality play
The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...
of the same name. His friend and biographer H. C. Colles
Henry Cope Colles (20 April 18794 March 1943) was an English music critic, music lexicographer, writer on music and organist. He is best known for his 32 years as chief music critic of ''The Times'' (1911–1943) and for editing the 3rd and 4th ...
wrote, " e music itself was not like anything he had written before or would write again. ''Everyman'' was tumultuously received, and in the next few years given by every choral society in the country which aimed at a standard of firstrateness."[Colles, H. C]
"Walford Davies"
''Music & Letters'', July 1941, pp. 199–207 The work was also given in Australia and the US.[
During the First World War Davies joined the Committee for Music in War Time under Parry's chairmanship, organised concerts for the troops in France and musical events for the Fight for Right movement.][ In 1918 he was appointed director of music of 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 ...
, with the rank of major
Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...
.[ He established the RAF School of Music and two RAF bands, and composed the " Royal Air Force March Past", to which a slow "trio" section was later added by his successor, Major George Dyson. Since 1930 Walford Davies' "Solemn Melody" has been one of the permanent selection of national airs and mourning music performed on ]Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...
at The Cenotaph, Whitehall
The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War, was rededicated in 19 ...
.
1919–41
In 1919 Davies accepted the professorship of music at University College, Aberystwyth
, mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all
, established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'')
, former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth
, type = Public
, endowment = ...
, together with the post of director of music for the University of Wales
, latin_name =
, image =
, caption = Coat of Arms
, motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd
, mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth
, established =
,
, type = Confederal, non-member ...
and chairman of the National Council of Music. Here, in the words of his biographer Henry Ley, he "laboured unceasingly for the musical enlightenment of the principality",[ and in 1922 he was knighted in ]David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...
's resignation honours.
In 1924 he gave the Cramb lectures at the University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, gave his first broadcast talk for the BBC, and was appointed Gresham professor of music at the University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
.[ In the same year, at the age of fifty-four, he married (Constance) Margaret Isabel Evans (1898–1984), daughter of the Rev William Evans, Rector of ]Narberth, Pembrokeshire
Narberth ( cy, Arberth) is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was founded around a Welsh court and later became a Norman stronghold on the Landsker Line. It became the headquarters of the hundred of Narberth. It was on ...
; she was his junior by twenty-eight years.
Davies wrote "God Be in My Head" and several other of his works at Witham Hall
Witham Hall is an independent boarding and day school situated in Witham on the Hill, Lincolnshire, England.
The hall
The house is described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner in ''Buildings of England''. The core of the house, consisting of five bays betw ...
, which was then the private residence of Colonel Maitland, where he attended parties.[P. S. and B. Lyons and Witham Hall, Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury, Friday, February 8, 1985] Davies was the godfather of Bridget Lyons, who was the daughter of James W. Webb-Jones of St George's School, Windsor Castle
St George's School, Windsor Castle is a co-educational independent preparatory school in Windsor, near London, England. Founded to provide choirboys for the Choir of St George's Chapel, it now educates over 400 boys and girls.
History
The scho ...
, and who was the wife of the chorister Peter Stanley Lyons
Peter Stanley Lyons (6 December 1927 – 28 November 2006) was an English Marxist choral conductor and a headmaster of Witham Hall School.
Early life
Peter Stanley Lyons was born in Atherfold Road, London, SW9, to Harold Lyons, who was the ...
, who was subsequently the headmaster of Witham Hall School.[
Davies resigned his professorship at Aberystwyth in 1926, when he was appointed by the BBC as a music adviser,][ but he remained chairman of the National Council of Music until his death.][ He was from 1927 to 1932 organist and director of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.][
Davies's BBC broadcast in April 1924 was the first of many he made between then and 1941. He became well known for his programmes "Music and the Ordinary Listener" (1926–9), his wartime broadcasts for children (1939–41), and "Everyman's Music" (1940–41).][ '']The Musical Times
''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country.
It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...
'' called him "one of the world's first great broadcasters"; ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', in an obituary tribute said:
Colles wrote that Davies's regular listeners felt a proprietorial interest in him, recording one of them as remarking, "He always seemed to come right into the room with us."[
On the death of ]Sir Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
in 1934, Davies was appointed to succeed him as Master of the King's Music. As musical adviser to the BBC Davies moved from London to Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...
when the BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...
and the corporation's music administration moved there on the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.[
Davies died at ]Wrington
Wrington is a village and a civil and ecclesiastical parish on the north slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England. Both include nearby Redhill. Wrington lies in the valley of the Congresbury Yeo river, about east of Weston-su ...
, near Bristol, on 11 March 1941, and was buried in the graveyard of Bristol Cathedral
Bristol Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolu ...
.[ His widow later married Julian Harold Legge Lambart, Lower Master at ]Eton College
Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
.
Compositions
(Incomplete list)
Orchestral
Choral and vocal
Chamber music
Notes, references and sources
Notes
References
Sources
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Walford
1869 births
1941 deaths
20th-century classical composers
20th-century English composers
Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Alumni of the Royal College of Music
British military musicians
Cathedral organists
Classical music radio presenters
Composers awarded knighthoods
English classical composers
English classical organists
British male organists
English male classical composers
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Masters of the King's Music
Military music composers
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at St George's School, Windsor Castle
People from Oswestry
Pupils of Charles Villiers Stanford
Royal Air Force musicians
20th-century British male musicians
Royal Air Force officers
Royal Air Force personnel of World War I
Oratorio composers
Male classical organists
Classical musicians associated with the BBC