Music Notes for October 6

Whether it is turning on BBC Radio 3, buying tickets to a concert, or putting on a record at home; musicians and music lovers alike tend to gravitate towards those familiar composers who have become household names. For early 20th century England few musicians were more well known in the world of sacred music than the composer of this Sunday's anthem, Sir Henry Walford Davies. 

Davies was born in Oswestry, a small town near the northern Welsh border, on September 6, 1869. The seventh child of nine, Henry was born into a music family and held many prominent positions throughout his career including Master of the King's Music, organist and director of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, music director to the RAF, and more. Aside from his performance, compositional, and teaching career, Davies was also well known for his BBC broadcast series including "Music and the Ordinary Listener" (1926–9), his wartime broadcasts for children (1939–41), and "Everyman's Music" (1940–41). 

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart by Sir Henry Walford Davies is a short anthem that was first published in The Church Anthem Book (1933). It embodies the sentimentality that Davies was often criticized for and is a tender setting of Matthew 5:8, beginning with a duet of sopranos and altos and growing to include the full ensemble.

Photo Credit: National Portrait Gallery London