Jesu dulcis memoria

Sir Henry Walford Davies KCVO OBE (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was a British composer, who held the title Master of the King's Musick from 1934 until 1941.

Davies remained at the College as a teacher of counterpoint from 1895, one of his pupils being Rutland Boughton and another Leopold Stokowski. During this time he held a number of organist posts in London including St Anne's Church, Soho (1890-1891), Christ Church, Hampstead (1891-1898), culminating in his appointment in 1898 as organist of the Temple Church, where Stokowski was also his assistant. Davies continued there until 1917. In that year he was appointed the first director of music to the newly created Royal Air Force, which led to him writing the march, "RAF March Past", still played by many marching bands today.

In 1919, Walford Davies was made professor of music at Aberystwyth. He subsequently did much to promote Welsh music, becoming chairman of the Welsh National Council of Music. From 1927 he was organist at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.

Walford Davies was knighted in 1922.

Following the death of Sir Edward Elgar in 1934, he was appointed Master of the King's Music. He died in 1941 in Bristol and is buried in the grounds of Bristol Cathedral.

This interesting, rarely heard piece is the last (12th) of the group of pieces from "A Little Organ Book" in memory of C. Hubert H. Parry. I think this is the gem of the group. It's certainly the trickiest to play! It certainly shows Davies "unusual" writing, as it's quite "different" from other English organ works of the period.

It has a motto (played at the start and at the conclusion, but NOT in the middle of the piece), based on the following text, which appears at the beginning and end:

"The place that Jesus taketh in our Soul, he never shall therefore remove, without end; For in us is his homeliest home, and his endless dwelling." Juliana of Norwich.

The score is attached below, as well as photos of H. Walford Davies and C.H. H. Parry.