Albert William Ketèlbey

The Sacred Hour

The Sacred Hour (Reverie) was first published in 1929. It is a musical story of a young priest playing the Organ in a Catholic church, when he is interrupted by a choir singing the Ave Maria. He thenadapts to this new melody, rising to a climax of devotional fervour.

Albert William Ketelbey (1875-1959) was a British composer, pianist and conductor. He studied Piano at Trinity College of Music in London, beforebranching out and earning a living as a composer and arranger. He became the foremost composer of cinema and light music between the wars, so much so that he was hailed as 'Britain's greatest living composer' in some circles.