"MASTER OF THE KING'S MUSICK"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 91, 21 March 1941, Page 15

"MASTER OF THE KING'S MUSICK"

Death Of Sir Walford Davies

HE death of the most popular and best-known British broadcaster of music, Sir Walford Davies, was announced over the radio from London last week. Sir Walford set out years ago to expound music in terms intelligible to the ordinary listener, and succeeded. The BBC never had a finer microphone performer. He understood children, which was probably the reason why he talked so successfully to grown-ups. In this connection the following story is told: He was addressing a large audience of children in Wales when his lecture was interrupted by the persistent cat-calls of a crowd of boys outside the hall. Sir Walford stood this for a while, then, breaking off in the middle of a sentence, called out: "Come along, boys and girls, let’s get rid of them!" Jumping down from the platform, he led his audience in a charge against the hecklers, who were, of course-or what is a story forignominiously routed. Could any young barbarian resist a lecturer like that? Sir Walford Davies was born at Oswestry in Shropshire, 71 years ago, and began as a chorister at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, where he _ studied under Mr. (later Sir) Walter Parratt, one-time Master of the Queen’s Musick. When he won a composition scholarship at the Royal College of Music in 1890, he came under the influence of Parry and Stanford. Five years later he became professor of counterpoint at the R.C.M., then in 1898 was appointed organist and director of the Temple Church Choir. Other important academic posts included Professor of Music at University College, Aberystwyth, Chairman of the National Council of Music in the University of Wales, Master of the King’s Musick. conductor of the London Bach Choir, organist at St. Anne’s Soho, Musical Director of the Royal Air Force Band, organist of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and Gresham Professor of Music. Sir Walford has composed numerous works, all of them melodious and scholarly. As a song writer especially, he was prolific and most successful, Both the voice and the music of Walford Davies have been broadcast fairly frequently by the NBS. In Britain his talks on music set millions of school children composing their own tunes. One tired surgeon listened to these talks simply because, as he said, the voice massaged his spine! The sec-

ret of Sir Walford’s success as a broadcaster was largely his habit of visualising his listeners and sharing his thoughts with a _ vast, friendly, but critical concourse of minds: "All the world in one room, the angels overhearing." He had a special interest in those who were bedridden, or imprisoned owing to chronic illness. In short, he looked upon music not merely as expression, but as an eid to social and religious ends.

B.

W.