Palm Court
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A palm court is a large
atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...
with
palm trees Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm ( ...
, usually in a prestigious hotel, where functions are staged, notably
tea dance __NOTOC__ A tea dance, also called a ''thé dansant'' (French for "dancing tea"), was a dance held in the summer or autumn from 4 to 7 p.m. In the English countryside, a garden party sometimes preceded the dance.''Party-giving on Every Scale ...
s. Examples include the
Langham Hotel The Langham, London, is one of the largest and best known traditional-style grand hotels in London, England. It is situated in the district of Marylebone on Langham Place, London, Langham Place and faces up Portland Place towards Regent's Park. ...
(1865),
Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...
(1873), the Carlton Hotel (1899), and the Ritz Hotel (1906), all in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
; and the Alexandria Hotel (court added in 1911) in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
Palace Hotel, San Francisco The Palace Hotel is a landmark historic hotel in San Francisco, California, located at the southwest corner of Market and New Montgomery streets. The hotel is also referred to as the "new" Palace Hotel to distinguish it from the original 1875 ...
and the
Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...
in New York City. Capitalizing on their popularity, some
ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...
s also had palm courts, notably the RMS ''Titanic'' (1912).


Palm Court music

Light orchestras proliferated in the holiday resorts and spas of Europe from the late 1800s. By the start of the 20th century most luxury hotels, cruise ships, department store restaurants and cafes employed small orchestras or chamber groups to entertain their patrons.Shepherd, John (ed.):
Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World
' (2003), Volume 2, p. 51 The
Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...
in London, for instance, catered for the elite of English society and to visiting foreigners. "Sedate couples on the dance floor would enjoy waltzing to ''The Valeta'' and ''
Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
'', with perhaps an occasional two-step in between". At the Savoy in the 1920s,
Carroll Gibbons Carroll Richard Gibbons (January 4, 1903 – May 10, 1954) was an American-born pianist, bandleader and popular composer who made his career primarily in England during the British dance band era. Image of Gibbons from the W.D. & H.O. Wills ...
directed two orchestras: Carroll Gibbons and the Boy Friends provided light music for afternoon tea in the Thames Foyer, while the
Savoy Orpheans The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London. The band was formed by Debroy Somers, an ex-army bandmaster, in 1923. Both the Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band were und ...
played dance music in the evenings, with a nod towards jazz. The name palm court orchestra, a small orchestra playing light classical music, comes from this root. In the UK, broadcast relays of light music from The
Grand Hotel Eastbourne The Grand Hotel is a Victorian hotel, also known as the 'White Palace', located on King Edwards Parade, Eastbourne in East Sussex, England. The 5 star hotel is part of an independent UK based hotel group, Elite Hotels, who also own Tylney Hal ...
by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
began in 1925 with an orchestra under the direction of the violinist Albert Sandler (1906-1948). (The hotel didn't have a palm court, the lounge hall was used for the relays).'Grand Hotel' at ''Masters of Melody"''
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Alfredo Campoli Alfredo Campoli (20 October 1906 – 27 March 1991) was an Italian-born British violinist, often known simply as Campoli. He was noted for the beauty of the tone he produced from the violin. Campoli spent his childhood and much of his career in E ...
founded his similar "Salon Orchestra" in the 1930s. By 1942 Sandler was billed as directing "The Palm Court Orchestra", actually made up from a unit of the BBC London Studio Players, a pool of musicians put together in 1941 to form ensembles of different sizes on demand. The ensemble secured a regular broadcast slot on Sunday evenings on the programme ''Grand Hotel'' which ran from 1943 until 1973. Tom Jenkins (from 1946) and
Jean Pougnet Jean Pougnet (20 July 1907 – 14 July 1968) was a Mauritian-born concert violinist and orchestra leader, of British nationality, who was highly regarded in both the lighter and more serious classical repertoire during the first half of the twent ...
were later conductors of the Palm Court Orchestra.
Max Jaffa Max Jaffa OBE (28 December 1911 – 30 July 1991) was a British light orchestral violinist and bandleader. He is best remembered as the leader of the Palm Court Orchestra and trio, with Jack Byfield (piano) and Reginald Kilbey (cello), which br ...
was leader from 1956, and also performed as a member of the Palm Court Trio with Jack Byfield (piano) and Reginald Kilbey (cello). Reginald Leopold followed on from Jaffa with a 17 year stint at the orchestra. The fourth movement of
Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...
's ballet suite ''Souvenirs'' (1950) is titled 'Two-Step (Tea in the Palm Court)'. Originally for piano four hands, it was orchestrated in 1952. Barber wrote of the suite: "One might imagine a divertissement in a setting of the Palm Court of the Hotel Plaza in New York, the year about 1914, epoch of the first tangos."
Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Char ...
's ''Palm Court Waltz'', Op. 81 No 2 (1971) is an orchestral work written for an entertainment put on at the
London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...
by
Richard Buckle (Christopher) Richard Sandford Buckle CBE (6 August 1916 – 12 October 2001), was a lifelong English devotee of ballet, and a well-known ballet critic. He founded the magazine ''Ballet'' in 1939. Early life Buckle was the only son of Lieute ...
, and arranged for piano duet in 1971.
Sir Lennox Berkeley: A Centenary Tribute
', Hyperion CDH55135 (2003)


See also

* Palm Court (Alexandria Hotel) - historic ballroom in Los Angeles, California * Palm Court at the Ritz Hotel - site of "Tea at the Ritz" in London, England * Light music


References

{{reflist Hotel terminology