PRAYERS have been said in Hereford Cathedral for a musician saluted as one of the founders of the present-day Three Choirs Festival.
Meredith Davies CBE, who has died aged 82, was director of music at Hereford Cathedral between 1949-1956. He then stepped into a national spotlight as a conductor specialising in English music.
He championed the cause of Frederick Delius, and his most celebrated association with Benjamin Britten came in May 1962, when he directed the premiere of the composer's War Requiem in the newly-completed Coventry cathedral.
The week before he died, Mr Davies was in talks with the director of music at Gloucester Cathedral over a new performance of the work.
Hereford Three Choirs stalwart Michael Morris - chorus superintendent for 39 years - said Mr Davies' innovative approach to performance helped transform the festival from a "rather more parochial" event into the international success that it is today.
Mr Davies was later to work with Roy Massey, one of his successors as director of music at Hereford Cathedral, when conducting the City of Birmingham Choir from 1957-1964.
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