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 311 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 composer, lyricist  
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  
(Results 1-25 of 311 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Ketèlbey, Albert W.," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103225.

Ketèlbey, Albert W.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103225.

"Ketèlbey, Albert W.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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