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 1-25 of 313 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | C-25387 | 12-in. | 7/8/1921 | In a monastery garden | Victor Concert Orchestra | Orchestra, with male vocal quartet | composer | |
Victor | CVE-35381 | 12-in. | 5/7/1926 | In a Persian market | International Concert Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | CVE-35735 | 12-in. | 7/1/1926 | In a Chinese temple garden | International Concert Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | CVE-35842 | 12-in. | 8/20/1926 | In a monastery garden | Victor Concert Orchestra | Orchestra, with male vocal chorus | composer | |
Victor | BVE-35843 | 10-in. | 8/20/1926 | In a monastery garden | Victor Concert Orchestra | Orchestra, with male vocal chorus | composer | |
Victor | MVE-47691 | 16-in. | 10/20/1928 | In a Persian garden | Motion Picture Orchestra | Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with female vocal solo and male vocal chorus | composer | |
Victor | BS-102857 | 10-in. | 7/1/1936 | In a Persian market | Boston Pops Orchestra ; Arthur Fiedler | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | BS-102858 | 10-in. | 7/1/1936 | In a Persian market | Boston Pops Orchestra ; Arthur Fiedler | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | CS-011479 | 12-in. | 8/13/1937 | In a monastery garden | Lew White | Organ solo, with harp and vocal ensemble | composer | |
Victor | BS-037603 | 10-in. | 6/7/1939 | In a Persian market | Larry Clinton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-057048 | 10-in. | 10/29/1940 | In a Chinese temple garden | Collins H. Driggs | Novachord solo | composer | |
Victor | BS-066866 | 10-in. | 7/18/1941 | In a Persian market | Collins H. Driggs | Novachord solo | composer | |
Victor | PBS-072600 | 10-in. | 12/16/1942 | In a Persian market | United States Coast Guard Band ; Rudy Vallee | Band | composer | |
Victor | E0RB-4844 | 10-in. | 6/20/1950 | In a Persian market | Boston Pops Orchestra ; Arthur Fiedler | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | E0RB-4845 | 10-in. | 6/20/1950 | In a Persian market | Boston Pops Orchestra ; Arthur Fiedler | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | D7VB-1985 | 10-in. | 11/5/1947 | In a Persian market | Herbie Fields ; Herbie Fields Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | PBS-Test-1364 | 10-in. | 10/10/1934 | In a monastery garden | The Singing Guardsmen | Male vocal quartet | lyricist, composer | |
Columbia | 49063 | 12-in. | 1/4/1917 | In a monastery garden | Columbia Symphony Orchestra ; Sibyl Sanderson Fagan | Orchestra, with male vocal chorus and bird imitations | lyricist, composer | |
Columbia | 49997 | 12-in. | 11/14/1921 | In a Persian market | Prince's Orchestra | Orchestra, with male vocal quartet | lyricist, composer | |
Columbia | W152583 | 10-in. | 12/7/1933 | In a monastery garden | Emil Velazco and his Organ Melodists | Organ band | composer | |
Columbia | 5694 | 12-in. | between 1903 and 1907 | Marcha de la coronación | Banda Española | Band | conductor | |
Columbia | 5696 | 12-in. | between 1903 and 1907 | Einzugsmarsch | Banda Española | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6048 | 12-in. | approximately 1909 or 1910 | The druid's prayer | Court Symphony Orchestra [U.K.] | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6051 | 12-in. | approximately 1909 or 1910 | Valse Septembre | Court Symphony Orchestra [U.K.] | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6070 | 12-in. | approximately 1910 | Hungarian dance no. 5 | Court Symphony Orchestra [U.K.] | Orchestra | conductor |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Ketèlbey, Albert W.," accessed September 4, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103225.
Ketèlbey, Albert W.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 4, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103225.
"Ketèlbey, Albert W.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 4 September 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Albert Ketèlbey
Discogs: Albert W. Ketèlbey
Grove: Albert W. Ketèlbey
IMSLP: Albert W. Ketèlbey
RISM: Albert W. Ketèlbey
IMDb: Albert W. Ketèlbey
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Ketèlbey, Albert W. (Albert William), 1875-1959 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81078907
Wikidata: Albert Ketèlbey - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q503005
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/42025688
MusicBrainz: Albert Ketèlbey - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ec4ba9cc-3b8e-41a3-859c-59737bbe01e1
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