Richard Davy

For the Jamaican soccer player, see Richard Davy (footballer).

Richard Davy (c. 1465–1507) was a Renaissance composer, organist and choirmaster, one of the most represented in the Eton Choirbook.

Biography

Little is known about the life of Richard Davy. His name was a common one in Devon and he may have been born there. He was a scholar of Magdalen College, Oxford, and acted as choir master and organist at least in the period 1490-2.^[1] Churchwardens' accounts for Ashburton, Devon, mention a 'Dom. Richardus Dave:' from 1493-5, where he may have been acting as a chaplain or as master of the nearby school at St. Lawrence Chapel.^[2] He may then have moved to Exeter Cathedral to be vicar choral in the period 1497-1506.^[1]

Work and influence

Davy is the third most represented composer in the Eton choirbook, with ten compositions including the votive antiphon O Domine celi terreque creator, which according to an inscription in Eton was composed in a single day.^[3] His work is considered more florid than that of his contemporaries Robert Fayrfax and William Cornish and may have had considerable impact on later figures such as John Taverner.^[1]