''In a Persian Market'' is a piece of light classical music for orchestra with optional chorus by

Albert 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 Lon ...

who composed it in 1920. Subtitled ''Intermezzo Scene'', it was published by Bosworth in 1921. It evokes exotic images of camel-drivers, jugglers, and snake-charmers. When it was first published in a version for piano, it was advertised as an "educational novelty".

Theme and music

A synopsis of scenes by the composer mentions a

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

arriving, beggars, a princess carried by servants, jugglers, snake-charmers, and a caliph. After the princess and the caliph have left, a

muezzin The muezzin ( ar, مُؤَذِّن) is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day (Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque. The muezzin plays an important role ...

calls to prayer from a minaret. The caravan continues its journey, and the market becomes silent. The duration is around six minutes. An opening march shares "exotic"

intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to arbitrary partially ordered sets * A statistical level of measurement * Interval e ...

, A – B-flat – E, with the composer's

oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

intermezzo ''Wonga'', used for the play ''Ye Gods'' in 1916. A chorus of beggars sings: "

Baksheesh ''Baksheesh'' or ' (from fa, بخشش ) is tipping, charitable giving, and certain forms of political corruption and bribery in the Middle East and South Asia. Etymology and usage ''Baksheesh'' comes from the Persian word (), which originat ...

, baksheesh

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

"; passers-by sing "Empshi" ("get away"). A romantic

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

portrays the princess, similar to Stravinsky's ''

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various sp ...

''. Trumpets announce the caliph. The concluding section "Call to prayer" of 22 measures was added later.

Publishing and reception

The music was first announced in ''Musical Opinion'' in January 1921 as a piano piece, in a section "Educational novelties”. Half a year later, Bosworth printed the orchestral version. ''In a Persian Market'' has been regarded as a work of orchestral

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. The work has been used as theatre music for comic oriental scenes, used in sketches by

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

, and by

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...

, and also in schools as theatrical repertory.

Selected recordings

''In a Persian Market'' was recorded completely, with chorus, in 1999 by the New London Light Opera Chorus and the

New London Orchestra The New London Orchestra began as a body of players regularly assembled by Ronald Corp to accompany concerts given by Highgate Choral Society, and was formally founded in 1988. It developed into an orchestra specialising in rarely heard late 19th ...

, conducted by

Ronald Corp Ronald Geoffrey Corp, (born 4 January 1951) is a composer, conductor and Anglican priest. He is founder and artistic director of the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the New London Children's Choir. Corp is musical director of the London Chorus, a ...

. It is part of a 2002 recording of the same name, an anthology of historic recordings of works by Ketèlbey performed by different ensembles and conductors (including the composer) made between 1917 and 1939. Also music was used in "My Lady Heroine" by French singer Serge Gainsbourg.

References

External links

*
The Music of Albert W. Ketèlbey / A Catalogue
compiled by Tom McCanna

iranian.com * Philip L. Scowcroft
''Monastery Garden'' and ''Persian Market'' / The Travels of Albert W. Ketèlbey
by Philip L. Scowcroft, musicweb-international.com
''In a Persian Market'' sheet music

Musopen Musopen Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Tarzana, California, launched by Aaron Dunn in 2005. It aims to "set music free" by providing music to the public free of charge, without copyright restrictions. Mission and charit ...

* {{Authority control 1920 compositions Compositions by Albert Ketèlbey Orientalism