He helped bring “light” into the world.
This week on “Sweetness and Light,” we mark the sesquicentenary of the birth of Albert Ketèlbey.
Along with Eric Coates, 11 years his junior, Ketèlbey was one of the foremost British light music luminaries. In fact, it’s been said that at his peak, in the 1920s, there was no more successful composer in England. His music was played by palm court orchestras at grand hotels, at luxurious restaurants, in tea shops and cinemas, on municipal orchestra concerts, and on recordings and radio.
Nowadays, his music is much less frequently heard. Coates has his infectious marches and “By the Sleepy Lagoon,” while Ketèlbey often strays to exotic fairy lands, dabbling in a kind of “orientalism” that is now decidedly out-of-fashion – though for some reason, it doesn’t prevent us from enjoying works like Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.”
Even in his day, Ketèlbey withstood the brickbats of jealous rivals and indignant critics. It must have been doubly exasperating when he became England’s first composer to earn a million dollars. Unquestionably, there is a certain “kitsch” factor to his output. His works have been described as both “reprehensibly demeaning” and “delightfully tacky.” But there’s also an element of naiveté, which can still charm those of us lulled by a nostalgia for our grandparents’ enthusiasms.
And face it, he DID always have an ear for a good tune.
It’s unlikely in our more culturally sensitive age that Ketèlbey’s music will ever make a huge comeback, but these twee picture postcards offer fascinating glimpses into simpler times in the world of musical entertainment. I hope you are able to set aside your cynicism and sophistication for an hour, as we salute Albert Ketèlbey on the 150th anniversary of his birth, on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
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