Sir Henry Walford Davies (1869-1941) was an English composer, organist, teacher and broadcaster. Born in Oswestry, he trained in the English cathedral tradition and later became one of the country’s best-known musical educators.

His works include church music, organ pieces, choral works, songs and orchestral music. The Solemn Melody, represented in the Pristine catalogue, is his most enduringly familiar composition.

Davies’s music is noble, direct and rooted in the Anglican and civic traditions of British music. It favours dignity of line and clarity of feeling over complexity or display.

As Master of the King’s Music and as a pioneering broadcaster, Davies brought musical understanding to a broad public. His reputation rests as much on communication as composition: he helped make music feel like a shared national room.