Albert W. Ketèlbey

Albert William Ketèlbey (; born Ketelbey; 9 August 1875 – 26 November 1959) was an English composer, conductor and pianist, best known for his short pieces of light orchestral music. He was born in Birmingham and moved to London in 1889 to study at Trinity College of Music. After a brilliant studentship he did not pursue the classical career predicted for him, becoming musical director of the Vaudeville Theatre before gaining fame as a composer of light music and as a conductor of his own works.

For many years Ketèlbey worked for a series of music publishers, including Chappell & Co and the Columbia Graphophone Company, making arrangements for smaller orchestras, a period in which he learned to write fluent and popular music. He also found great success writing music for silent films until the advent of talking films in the late 1920s.

The composer's early works in conventional classical style were well received, but it was for his light orchestral pieces that he became best known. One of his earliest works in the genre, In a Monastery Garden (1915), sold over a million copies and brought him to widespread notice; his later musical depictions of exotic scenes caught the public imagination and established his fortune. Such works as In a Persian Market (1920), In a Chinese Temple Garden (1923), and In the Mystic Land of Egypt (1931) became best-sellers in print and on records; by the late 1920s he was Britain's first millionaire composer. His celebrations of British scenes were equally popular: examples include Cockney Suite (1924) with its scenes of London life, and his ceremonial music for royal events. His works were frequently recorded during his heyday, and a substantial part of his output has been put on CD in more recent years.

Ketèlbey's popularity began to wane during the Second World War and his originality also declined; many of his post-war works were re-workings of older pieces and he increasingly found his music ignored by the BBC. In 1949 he moved to the Isle of Wight, where he spent his retirement, and he died at home in obscurity. His work has been reappraised since his death; in a 2003 poll by the BBC radio programme Your Hundred Best Tunes, Bells Across the Meadows was voted the 36th most popular tune of all time. On the last night of the 2009 Proms season the orchestra performed his In a Monastery Garden, marking the fiftieth anniversary of Ketèlbey's death—the first time his music had been included in the festival's finale.

Birth and Death Data: Born August 9, 1875 (Birmingham), Died November 26, 1959 (Cowes)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1907 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: conductor, composer, lyricist, arranger, organ, piano, pipe organ

Notes: Pseudonym for Albert Ketèlbey,

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 176-200 of 313 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 75156 12-in. 7/18/1922 Peer Gynt : Solveig's song Albert W. Ketelbey ; Dora Labbette Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75157 12-in. 7/18/1922 In a monastary garden Hubert Eisdell ; Albert W. Ketelbey Male vocal solo, with chorus and orchestra conductor, composer  
Columbia 75158 12-in. 7/18/1922 She wandered down the mountain side Albert W. Ketelbey ; Dora Labbette Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75161 12-in. 8/24/1922 Caller herrin' Muriel Brunskill ; Albert W. Ketelbey Female vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75162 12-in. 8/24/1922 Annie Laurie Muriel Brunskill ; Albert W. Ketelbey Female vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75165 12-in. 8/30/1922 In questa tomba oscura Clara Butt Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75187 12-in. 9/19/1922 Ah! Che assorta Albert W. Ketelbey ; Elsa Stralia Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75189 12-in. 9/19/1922 Comfort ye my people Albert W. Ketelbey ; Frank Mullings Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75190 12-in. 9/19/1922 Every valley shall be exalted Albert W. Ketelbey ; Frank Mullings Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75191 12-in. 9/21/1922 Why do the nations? Norman Allin ; Albert W. Ketelbey Bass vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75192 12-in. 9/21/1922 But who may abide the day of his coming? Norman Allin ; Albert W. Ketelbey Bass vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75195 12-in. approximately 1922 Faust, selections, part 1 Albert W. Ketelbey ; Silver Stars Band [National Military Band] Band conductor  
Columbia 75196 12-in. approximately 1922 Faust, selections, part 2 Albert W. Ketelbey ; Silver Stars Band [National Military Band] Band conductor  
Columbia 75197 12-in. approximately 1922 Il Trovatore, selection, part 1 Albert W. Ketelbey ; Silver Stars Band [National Military Band] Band conductor  
Columbia 75201 12-in. approximately 1922 The trumpeter Albert W. Ketelbey ; Kenneth Walters Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75202 12-in. approximately 1922 The bandolero Albert W. Ketelbey ; Kenneth Walters Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75203 12-in. 11/9/1922 The palms Norman Allin ; Albert W. Ketelbey Male vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75206 12-in. 11/2/1922 O thou that tellest Carrie Herwin ; Albert W. Ketelbey Female vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75207 12-in. 11/2/1922 He was despised Carrie Herwin ; Albert W. Ketelbey Female vocal solo, with orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75208 12-in. approximately 1922 Il Trovatore, selection, part 2 Albert W. Ketelbey ; Silver Stars Band [National Military Band] Band conductor  
Columbia 75214 12-in. 11/16/1922 Maximilien Robespierre overture, part 1 Albert W. Ketelbey ; National Military Band [UK] Band conductor  
Columbia 75215 12-in. 11/16/1922 Maximilien Robespierre overture, part 2 Albert W. Ketelbey ; National Military Band [UK] Band conductor  
Columbia 75230 12-in. 11/28/1922 Morning, noon and night in Vienna (Overture) Albert W. Ketelbey ; Orchestra (unidentified; Columbia Records) Band conductor  
Columbia 75231 12-in. 11/28/1922 Poet and peasant (Overture) Albert W. Ketelbey ; Orchestra (unidentified; Columbia Records) Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 75232 12-in. 11/22/1928 Cavalleria rusticana : Intermezzo Albert W. Ketelbey ; Orchestra (unidentified; Columbia Records) Orchestra conductor  
(Results 176-200 of 313 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Ketèlbey, Albert W.," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103225.

Ketèlbey, Albert W.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103225.

"Ketèlbey, Albert W.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103225

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