THE VALIANT MUSICIANS

Wallace Hartley and the Titanic Ship's Orchestra

Jack Kopstein*

"You gentlemen of England

Who sit at home at ease

How little do you think

Of the danger of the sea"

- -Martin Parker 1656

Introduction

Countless books and  articles have been written about one of the greatest maritime disasters in world history, the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic on the evening of 15 April 1912. The White Star Liner struck an iceberg and sank on it’s maiden voyage from Southampton to New York with a loss of two-thirds of the more than 2,200 people aboard, claiming aristocrats, and immigrants alike. It also claimed the lives of the eight piece Titanic orchestra including its leader Wallace Hartley.

Full studies by eminent musicologists have considered the several probabilities of the music that was played as the ship crossed the threshold into its last moments to sink forever to the bottom of the sea. The following is an effort in deductive reasoning to determine the state of mind of the shipboard musicians whom decided to stay the course and give the passengers a solemn sendoff. In gathering information, much use was made of the news reports of the day, later reconstructions in movies, first person reports, Internet studies, books and articles. Regarding the music performed on the ship it is fair to say that based on the time frame and the music published as well as the knowledge of salon repertoire, a musical blueprint will emerge.

In developing the outline for this article it was necessary to review numerous photographs of military bands to determine if any of the band members were former military musicians. This was a almost a fruitless task, but in a photograph of pianist Theodore Brailey he is seen in the dress uniform of the Royal Artillery band which had one of the finest orchestras in Britain at the time and spawned several significant musicians. Also in a photograph of the Royal Irish Rifles band dated 1909, which included the string section a striking resemblance to J.W. Woodward, is seen. 

Being a musician on a cruise ship in today's world is not unlike the musician employed in similar work in the past. It is by  nature incredibly hard work, you are on call for every conceivable shipboard event and the pay is deplorable. But in every instance the standard of musicianship is essentially star quality in comparison to the salary. The repertoire at the turn of the last century was extensive. The musicians were not employees of the White Star Line, but employees of Black Brothers in Liverpool. The Black Brothers were artistic agents with several maritime companies. Blacks had a bevy of musicians under contract and as a result could provide the musicians at a lower price. This caused a good deal of antagonism with the Musicians Trade Union-The Amalgamated Musicians Union. On the other hand musicians needed to work and salary with free room and board appeared a good inducement. Their salaries were about $30.00-40.00US per month with Hartley probably getting ten dollars more.  The maiden voyage of the Titanic prompted the White Star Line to seek out the best musicians available and as a result Hartley was extracted from his job with Cunard and off the Mauritania to take over the leadership of the Titanic orchestra. Prior to 1912 the musicians of the transatlantic liners were an integral part of the crew. They received monthly wages of $50.00 US and a uniform allowance of about $7.00US. At the end of 1911 Black Brothers offered musicians at the lower pay scale and no uniform allowance and the musicians were now under contract to Black Brothers. The musicians were also assigned

 Ticket    number 250654 which covered their passage as a group in second class. The fact that they were considered passengers would later work against their families

 MUSIC STYLES 1900-1912

  At the turn of the last century salon music, a genre ranging from original compositions to arrangements of orchestral works, operas or operatic extracts, was a phenomenon found all over Europe. A growing market, in which direct means of musical production was in it’s infancy, had to be supplied with compositions which were easy on the ear

 By the time of the sailing Salon(dinner) music was at its pinnacle. In the diary of   saxophonist Albert A Knecht of the Sousa band he remarks that the 5-piece salon orchestra on the White Star liner Baltic was excellent during the John Philip Sousa World cruise of 1910. He said they played in every corner of the ship.

 Similarly The Titanic orchestra performed nightly for the diners in or near the first class dining saloon. They also played regularly at the Veranda and Palm Court next to the First class smoking room. Dining in First Class was a formal occasion every night including the night to be remembered. The A la Carte dining room and the Parisien restaurants which were in close proximity also had musical entertainment on a daily and nightly occasion. The Grand Staircase was the focal point of the Titanic and behind the staircase was a spacious Reception room, where guests would arrive before dinner to discuss the day’s activities. The eight players usually separated into two groups. A ²trio played mostly in the lounge of the ala Carte reception room and the second-class dining room.

The other group members including Wallace Hartley remained in the first class lounge or in the dining saloon or the first class entrance to the boat deck. The portable string players would often venture into the midst of diners to provide music as strolling strings, where they would serenade the patrons with requests. A diverse and extensive repertoire was necessary. Mostly the orchestra kept to the ship policy of being heard but not seen, setting up behind palms and outside doorways. The policy of performing without being conspicuous was what the White Star Line referred to as their “seamless” crew and employees.   The orchestra was in attendance for Sunday services, which were usually conducted by the Captain, and the orchestra led the congregation in the hymn sing.

Since there was limited rehearsal space the orchestra met each morning in the instrument storage room on Deck E near the laundry locker located in the adjacent passageway. This deck was also to house the cramped quarters of the musicians and was in close proximity to the stern of the ship. The musicians room is shown on a cutaway drawing of the Titanic with the notation “musicians 5”. Deck E or Upper Deck in the ship configuration. It was 3^rd class accommodation but the ship’s band all appear on the “did not survive” listing as Second Class passengers. Since there was not an indication of where the remaining three musicians were quartered they may have been in the printer’s cabin, which held sixteen in bunk beds and was located next to the musician’s cabin. Their accommodation has been described as very cramped, and diagrams showing the interior of crew cabins do indicate bunk beds

Bandmaster Hartley would provide a schedule of the day’s activities, meals. . Rehearsals were brief, almost certainly for starts and stops, or musical marks to be observed.  Orchestra musicians were all members of the Amalgamated British Musician’s Union and had been hand picked by bandmaster Hartley through the musicians agency CW and FW Black of Liverpool Most of the musicians had vast experience on other ships of the line as well as the Cunard Ship Lines. Their professionalism is unquestionable based on their backgrounds, training and musicianship. Musician’s work to clock and the following is a frequently used method of scheduling performance routine on a daily basis.

  *It has been recounted that dancing was discouraged on the Titanic, and it not alluded to in the enormous volumes of material available to the author.

  The popularity of small ensemble music was due for the most part to the rise of young virtuoso violinist Fritz Kreisler. By 1910 the Austrian prodigy enjoyed enormous success and recognition, as a performer, which was reinforced by his numerous short tuneful compositions many of which by the time of the sailing of the Titanic had made their way into the small ensemble music list. Schon Rosmarin and Liebeslied are but two pieces that had gained universal appeal.

INSTRUMENTATION

  In examination of several books and articles, which refer to the Titanic “band”, it would appear that for all intents and purposes that it was a string orchestra.   Orchestra members were pre-selected by Hartley in conjunction with Black Brothers and some had experience on other White Star and Cunard ensembles. Others may have worked with on the RMS Mauritania and RMS Baltic.  The pianist Ted Brailey was very experienced, particularly because he had to fill in instrumental holes. What that means can be explained by outlining the instrumentation of a Ragtime band orchestration by Scott Joplin. The Maple Leaf Rag written by Joplin in 1898 and it was scored for piccolo, Bb clarinet Alto sax, trumpet Trombone, Violins 1 and 2, viola, cello, Bass, Piano and drums. Brailey certainly had numerous cues to play within the music.

Fixed instruments included five grand pianos and an Aeolian electric organ were stationed at various locations throughout the ship. As well two upright pianos (for steerage class sing- a -longs) were to be found on the ship. A set of bagpipes also was sent to the ocean floor when the ship sunk. They were owned by passenger Eugene Daly, and were Uillean Pipes. Two of the numbers he was known to play were Erin’s Lament and A Nation Once Again

Some of the items discovered by Dr Robert Ballard in July 1986 and 1987 during the search and salvaging of the Titanic were viewed by the author in Victoria BC at the Titanic artifacts display in 2007. It was disclosed that paper products did not survive with the exception of a piano/conductor part for a turn of the century number titled “Pleasant Memories”. Also discovered was a Db piccolo and a music holder or lyre. The instrument as shown in the display was very good quality despite the ravages of the sea, and one could determine that this was a professional type instrument.  The lyre was for a clarinet as it can be distinguished from other instrumental music holders by the fact that there is a place for a screw nut on it’s underside (screw missing).  The following is a chart showing the musician and instrument(s) played by the orchestra with remarks

  *Taylor was listed as cellist but it is unlikely that Hartley would select three cellists for an eight-piece group. A balanced instrumental ensemble would see the scenario of Bandmaster (violin) Hartley, Hume (violin), Brailey (piano), Clarke (string Bass-Viola), Woodward (cello), in the five piece group and Krins (violin), Taylor (piano) and Bricoux (cello) in the trio.

  The fact that within the full ensemble that groups would break up and move individually or in pairs from room to room or to the tables for tips lends more credence to there being string players whom could play in a continental style.

The White Star Line was very interested in having the presence of continental musicians near both the Parisien and A la Carte dining rooms. Both Belgian musician Georges Krins and French Cellist Roger Bricoux fitted that scenario. Violinist “Jock” Hume also had the ability as a busker and there is no doubt that he delighted passengers with his artistry in other locations including  the veranda.

  A subject that needs to be scrutinized is the issue of both the White Star music book and the notion that the musicians would be required to memorize all of the music contained in the book. In one account it is stated emphatically that there was a “standard 352 piece repertory”, and this was reiterated in Ian Whitcomb’s   Titanic Songbook where he states that there was a 352-piece songbook, which had to be learned, by name and number.  The music played will be discussed later but generally the Titanic ”book” consisted of light music, waltzes, romances, serenades, excerpts from opera, period pieces, polkas, marches, show tunes and the newest sensation, ragtime. Whitcomb also refers to 114 in the White Star music book as “Songe d’Automne” being played on the Boat Deck by the strings as the passengers tried to escape the frenzy of the sinking ship.

Since this chronicle relies on research and some supposition, it is hoped that a little common sense musical logic can be applied.  The musicians selected for the cruise ship industry were schooled musicians with both orchestral and small ensemble experience. Thus, despite the fact that they may have had the ability to ad-lib or perform as buskers, they were professional musicians who took their craft seriously and they must have strived for musical accuracy. A posed photograph of an orchestra purported to be on the Titanic but is probably from the Olympic clearly shows music on the piano rack. In addition Walter Lord in his book “The Night Lives On” categorically states that both groups had separate libraries of music. The library meaning is music at hand.

 The best example of music that needs distinctive nuance is the “Blue Danube Waltz” by Johannes Strauss (Junior 1825-1899). The melodic line for this waltz certainly is not difficult to place in the memory bank. All that one can do however is to scrutinize the accompaniment which is the rhythmic essential in all waltzes, there are bars and bars of after beats, often shifting rapidly with chord changes.  This was the job of the 2^nd violin, cellist and string bass to provide a solid musical background.  Just imagine having 352 pieces of music, some 3 and 4 pages long, with several bars and memorizing the cello parts. This is an improbable scenario for any ensemble or musician. Most string ensembles seen by the author on present day cruise ships have 40-50 tunes memorized, which they play over and over again during a seven-day voyage.

The outpouring of sympathy by musicians all over England when they went down and the solidarity of the major London orchestras attested to Titanic’ band’s classical training and ability.

In the end the fact that the music was numbered in the White Star book is the universal method for calling out dance sets.  This is certainly very strong evidence that music existed and was performed.

The Titanic Musicians

Wallace Henry Hartley-Bandmaster -Violin He was born in the small community of Colne, Lancashire near and the sea port town of Harwich England. He was born in 1878 and studied under his father who was choirmaster of the local Bethel Methodist church. He began the study of the violin at an early age and reached a high level of proficiency by the time he was 15. He was a fleeting member of the Huddersfield Philharmonic orchestra in 1898, but he was sent a letter asking him “if they (the HPO) can rely on your attendance for rehearsals and concerts“. It was a reminder that they needed his services in the orchestra. It appears that he returned the next season as he is shown as a member in 1899.Later he was first violin of orchestras in Bridlington and Harrogate. In 1909 he decided to become a cruise musician. He was hired by the music-booking agency CW and FW Black out of Liverpool and assigned to various cruise ships in the White Star and Cunard registries. He appeared as a musician on the Liners Arabic, and Baltic In 1910 he was offered the leadership of the band on the Cunard Liner Mauritania. Before leaving to take up a position of bandmaster on the Titanic. He was credited with having   made 80 voyages. He joined the Titanic at age 33 and was a fully professional all-around-musician. The lure of being leader of the biggest and most decadent ship in the world helped to convince him to take the position plus the increase in pay. He was a very skilled violinist and leader. It was said he had very nimble fingers for jigs, reels and ragtime. Hartley was selected for leadership of the orchestra, because of his reputation as a highly trained arranger, composer and player and a man with the common touch. After the band stopped playing he was not seen again and his body was recovered by the Cable Steamer MacKay -Bennet. He was dressed in his uniform, which had green facings, a brown overcoat and black boots.  Some of his effects included a gold fountain pen, solitaire ring, silver cigarette case, and silver matchbox marked W.H.H.  As well as a nickel watch. His music case was also found strapped to his body (see note 1)

John Frederick Preston (NobbY) Clarke. -Bass Violin -Viola  John Clarke’s home residence was listed as Smithdown-road Liverpool and he was the string bass player with the Ship’s orchestra. He was a member of the Amalgamated Musician’s Union. Prior to joining the Titanic he had been a member of the Argyle Theatre of Varieties. He was well known in the Birkenhead, which is a town on the Wirral Peninsula on the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. The town was famous as a seaport and as a centre for shipbuilding as it was close to the maritime activity of Liverpool. His proximity to Liverpool presented him an opportunity to obtain employment in the cruise industry with the White Star Line. He was 35 when   he perished and was wearing a grey overcoat and uniform with green facing. His effects included a diamond pin, gold watch, and a memo book. Although the contents of the memo book were never divulged it may have been used to help maintain his work schedule. The Steam Ship Mackay - Bennett, recovered his body and he was buried at the ⁴Mount Olivet Cemetery in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada.  He was 30 years old at the time of his death.

W.Theodore Ronald Brailey- Piano He was a resident of London and had previously served on the Cunard Steamer Carpathia before join the White Star Line. As noted previously Brailey was part of a gifted group of pianists who could condense music score for a small group and provide numerous instrumental cues. He was a resident of London England. Prior to joining the band of the Titanic he was on the Cunard Steamer Carpathia. Brailey was an airman having been associated with the Freshfield Aerodrome. He was a member of the Southport Pier Pavilion band before taking employment in the cruise industry.  His body was not recovered.

Roger  Bricoux-Cello. Roger Bricoux was a permanent resident of 5 Place du Lion d/Or in Lille, France prior to sailing with the Cunard Line on the Carpathia. Lille is located in the  historical region of Flanders, a few kilometers from border with Belgium.

 He was born in France (place not known). Lille was an industrial city in the early 1900’s but there were a number of orchestra venues, particularly in the variety theatres, which were popular in France. Prior to joining the Carpathia and Titanic he was known to live in Monaco, France. His body if recovered was never identified.

  John (Jock) Law Hume-Violin John Hume was 28 years old when the Titanic went down. He was a professional violinist from Dumfires Scotland, which is located in the south west of Scotland. Dumfiries is the birthplace of Robbie Burns. The town is home to the Dumfiries Academy, which has had music as part of the curriculum since 1889. It is possible that Hume attended the school and began the study of violin as they produced a musical play every year beginning in the 1890’s. Hume must have made application to Black Brothers and since he was a well-known talented violinist the music contractor for service on the Titanic hired him. An interesting sidelight to his membership in the orchestra was the incident of Black’s notice regarding the uniform, which Hume was forced to purchase as a member of the Titanic band. The letter which post dated his drowning on the Titanic by over two weeks stated:

C.W.& F.N Black

30 April 1912

We shall be obliged if  you will remit us the sum of 5s. 4d, which is owing us as per the enclosed statement. We will also be obliged if you will settle the enclosed uniform account.  

  The uniform account was for 14 shillings and 7 pence. It appeared that to Black Brothers nothing was sacred. Hume was a very gifted busker and was adept in flushing out tips from the Titanic passengers in the first class areas of the ship. When his body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett he was dressed in his uniform, a light raincoat and a purple muffler. His effects included a cigarette case, a silver watch, and a knife with a carved pearl handle. John Hume was buried in the Fairlawn Cemetery in Halifax Nova Scotia on May 8^th 1912

Georges Aleandre Krins-Violin Georges Krins was born in Paris on March 18^th; 1889.He was accepted for violin study at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Liege Belgium on October 30^th and studied there until 1908. The College, which Krins attended, is one of the most prestigious music schools in Europe, even by today’s standards. He seemingly had a desire to seek a career as a military musician, but his parents persuaded him to remain a civilian violinist. He worked for his father and also played in La Grande Symphonie of Spa, Belgium that had become his family’s home. In 1910 he performed as first violin at Le Trianon Lyrique in Paris. He eventually moved to London and played for two years at the Ritz Hotel which was a perfect fit as the Hotel had a Parisian flavor and “tea at the Ritz|” was the favorite pastime by London’s elite. In April 1912 he was recruited by Black Brothers of Liverpool to play on the RMS Titanic. He was the leader of the trio which played near the A la Carte restaurant. His last known address was in Brixton.  He was the most well skilled and educated musician among the professional musicians on board the ship. There is a good possibility that Krins was seeking to immigrate to the United States where good orchestral playing positions were in abundance.  Krins died in the disaster. His body if recovered was never identified.

Percy Cornelius Taylor-Cello-Piano Percy Taylor was a resident of London and was part of the London musical community and a well-trained professional musician with the ability to play both cello and piano. After scouring numerous photographs of military bands in Britain, a photograph, which is believed to be Taylor as cellist with the Irish Rifles band in 1909, is shown in figure 4.

  John Wesley Woodward-Cello John Woodward was born in West Bromwich England on September 11^th 1879. West Bromwich is in the heart of the West Midlands and is known, as “Black Country” The city is not far from the soccer Mecca of Wolver Hampton. He grew up in a family of six brothers and two sisters. He later moved to Oxford where they lived in the community of Headington.It was discovered at an early age that he had musical talent and he was trained on the cello and grew up playing in a number of string quartets (2 violins, viola, and cello). He left Oxford to join the Duke of Devonshire band in Eastborne, but he found he was not cut out to be a serviceman. In 1909 he joined the White Star Line, initially cruising to Jamaica in the Caribbean. He made several Trans-Atlantic sailings and at least three across the Mediterranean. He was on board the Olympia when she collided with the HMS Hawke and he narrowly escaped injury. He had taken his prized best cello for employment on the Titanic and he was scheduled to play at the May dinner of Magdelen College, Oxford. His brother Thomas Woodward became a well-known tenor vocalist with the Magdalen choir. Taylor perished in the disaster. His body if recovered, was never identified.

 The Music the Titanic Orchestra Played

  The Romantic period in music began in 1815 and ended in 1900. The 1890’was described as a gilded age, an era of supreme elegance and it carried on until the First World War in 1914, when there was a dramatic shift to military music and songs of war. The elements of music from the 1890’s were particularly romantic in light music. There was an abundance of love songs, waltzes with romantic titles such as Love’s Dream and Somebody’s Sweetheart I want to Be.The melody and harmony of the music remained consistently traditional. The timbre of the romantic period was of large orchestras, choirs, bands and most prominently small ensembles. In the early period of the twentieth Century a large volume of printed music was available. There was vast array of selections from shows, Fantasies, Serenades, Airs from opera, potpourri of classical nuggets, and medleys of music by popular composers and collections of songs. The music libraries of small ensembles were filled with the overtures of Jacques Offenbach, Waltzes by the Strauss family and music hall medleys. American music had just begun to become a craze in Britain and the continent and it was led by the new and exciting Ragtime music. The compositions of the American composer Irving Berlin had made it’s way across the Atlantic and British composer Lionel Monckton”s smash hit The Acadians was making it’s first appearance on Broadway at the Liberty theatre in 1910. The following is a sampling of the music, which would have appeared in the White Star songbook.

  The Fateful Night -April 15^th 1912

  “It was an event that made the world awake and rub its eyes”. Said surviving passenger Lawrence Beesley. The greatest most majestic ship in the world struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic and sank within hours. This was the biggest event of the Twentieth Century. The heaven on earth ship had given way to the dangers that lurk in the sea, an iceberg the size of a 10-story building and the watertight compartments were overwhelmed because of a huge gash in the forward bulkhead. The collision had taken place at 11:40 on the 14^the and within minutes water had started to rush into the boiler rooms. Thus began the slow and painful demise of one the world’s crowning achievements. It was the beginning of the end for the Titanic, the death of a dream.

Hartley very quickly realized that he and the band must play to calm the passengers by playing up tempo ragtime and waltzes. It was probably the only time that the two groups had joined together during the short voyage. The orchestra members were roused and dressed in their green uniforms and wearing overcoats they moved with the throngs that were shuffling about, unaware that the ship had received mortal damage

  Many of the first class passengers had made their way to the lounge and the orchestra had struck up a variety of waltzes, polkas, and ragtime tunes and as one passenger expressed “there was a feeling of gaiety“. They were able to play in this location because one of the small upright pianos was located in the lounge near the first class staircase, which entered onto the boat deck. As the passengers made their way from their cabins out to the lifeboats they continued to provide entertainment.

  As the first class area of the lounge emptied  they moved out on the deck near the doorway to the lounge and the grand staircase. From here they continued without the piano, and with a reduced group of 5-6 players with the remote possibility that one of the musicians added another voice on piccolo. The others stood by in hope they could at least help passengers and one passenger recalls seeing a musician helping a woman on with her life jacket and into one of the lifeboats.

  The ship had begun to take on masses of water and it began to list, which caused consternation among the passengers, Hartley urged his musicians on, playing waltzes and other well known brisk tunes. Passengers who were now  lowered to the sea in lifeboats were rowed by crew to some distance from the ship. They could still hear above the din, the orchestra playing lively tunes.

One has to wonder now at the character of the musicians. When all around them there was panic and trauma they kept playing. They stayed their post through all of the agony that now had filtered through to the passengers  It had become common knowledge there was not enough lifeboats and many would perish. The ship was now commencing its final death clatter. It was at this time that they began to play what has been described as a hymn of sacrifice.  A lasting musical memento for many of the passengers who were never to see the light of day again and for those that survived.

There is also much mystification on what was their last song. From the lifeboats, a number of different songs were heard. Among them is "Nearer, My God to Thee". Both the American and British survivors recall hearing it. This hymn is ordinarily played to entirely different music on both sides of the Atlantic. 

 Survivors recall hearing three different tunes in all! I find it very unlikely they played all of them unless the trio played in a different location. Also in the running are the hymn "Autumn" and the slow waltz "Songe d'Automne". It is important to note that there were two separate bands on the Titanic and they had two totally different playing styles. None of the band members survived.

A book which was published in 1912 by a firm in Philadelphia titled “On Board the Titanic” has a illustrated page showing the hymn as played by the Titanic band called autumn. This is the hymn that was suggested in a statement by Harold Bride the surviving wireless operator when he said, “From Aft came the tunes of the band. it was a ragtime tune , I don’t know what . Then there was autumn” He may have been referring to the slow waltz Songe d'Automne, which had become very popular.

Following the catastrophe music was published to commemorate the sinking and Nearer to My God to Thee became a hit sensation along with tunes called Be British, The Ship will Never Sink and The Wreck of the Titanic.

With the end being very close, Wallace Hartley called to his comrades that they may try and save themselves. None chose to do so and they remained together on the boat deck until the slope of the ship did not enable them to continue playing. Inevitably they stopped playing, as it was impossible to remain upright. Surviving passenger Colonel Gracie mentioned in a speech he made in November 1912 that he remembers the band stopped playing and laid   down their instruments about a half hour before the ship sunk. Gracie had been aboard almost to the end and recalls that he was there when they ceased performing.  A member of the orchestra was seen by a surviving passenger dragging his cello with the spike still intact, to some other location.

The final moments come at 2:18 am as all of the lifeboats have gone; no ship has been able to reach the Titanic in time. The crowd of people including orchestra members are on the stern and there is no hope of rescue.  As the bow sinks further and further the stern is lifted out of the water and a huge roar is heard as the ship breaks in two and within moments the lights go out. The stern will raise completely upright, then slide out of sight into the icy water of the Atlantic.

Aftermath and Memorial

  The heroism of the musicians was immortalized in the words of 2^nd class passenger Lawrence Beesley when he said” Much of the acts of courage achieved themselves this night, but none equalized the notch of those men who continued to play minute after minute while the ship was inserted more and more towards the place where they played-the music which they performed serving as a requiem.” and he went on to by saying ”they had the right to be engraved forever on the shelves of eternal glory.”  

Later it was learned through the secretary of the Trade Union of Musicians of Britain that the band had received an order to play in  order to avoid panic. It was also disclosed that none of them were wearing life jackets. First class passenger Pierre Marechal wrote later that he was convinced that in they’re both receiving the orders and responding, that they had sacrificed their lives in order to avoid disorder on board.

  Katherine Gold another survivor said that when she left the ship, she saw men on the boat deck smoking cigarettes and taping their feet to the sound of the lively and cheerful music of the orchestra. She said” I as particularly struck by seeing a violinist playing with a large life jacket in front of him. At that moment, the music was ragtime”.

  As the word filtered out that the great liner Titanic had hit an iceberg and sunk with the loss of several lives, the tales of survivors became front-page news in world newspapers. Headlines in Britain’s Daily Sketch screamed Orchestra Played On, and in New York the Times said Band Played Solemn Hymn As Great Ship Sunk. Eventually the name of the bandmaster Wallace Hartley surfaced as the central figure on the ship when it went down. The ensemble had achieved immortality. The bravery of the leader and band members in their effort to convey hope and comfort to others without any consideration of their own safety created a outpouring of sympathy around the world.

  Wallace Hartley was laid to rest in a ceremony befitting a monarch. The newspaper account describes the solemn occasion as “pageantry beyond Belief”. Over forty thousand people attended the funeral on May 18^th 1912. Seven bands led the possession.  Bass Violinist John Clarke was buried in Halifax Nova Scotia and the funeral was held on May 3^rd 1912. Violinist John Hume was interred in Fairview Cemetery on May 8^th 1912.  The Royal Canadian Regiment band under Captain Michael Ryan played these funerals and those of other passengers whose bodies were recovered.

  In 1915 a statue of Wallace Hartley w was erected in Colne to commemorate his heroism. In November 1912 a plaque was placed at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, The hall was destroyed by fire in 1933 and also sustained damage during the war, but the plaque survived. The All Saints church in Headington near Oxford, England has an unadorned Brass Plaque in dedication to cellist John Woodward. A memorial was unveiled in Southampton in 1913, but was destroyed during the war. A replica was unveiled in 1990. Violinist Georges Krins was finally remembered in 2002 with a plaque, which was placed on the Hotel Cardinal in Spa Belgium. His parents had lived at this location in 1910 and 1911.

  Royal Albert Hall was the setting for an remarkable concert On May 24, 1912 in the city of London.  Several orchestras combined to number more than 500 performers for a once-in-a-lifetime performance for The Titanic Band Memorial Concert conducted by Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Henry Wood, Percy Pitt, Landon Ronald Thomas Beecham and the Dutch conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Willem Mengelberg. The orchestra played several commemorative pieces including Arthur Sullivan’s In Memorium Overture, and Chopin’s Funeral March. Henry Wood also provided an orchestration of the Hymn Nearer my God to Thee. The solemnity of the occasion was heightened by the voices of many of the audience. A rare photograph of the concert survives and the massed orchestras clearly reflect the respect and admiration the British musicians had for Hartley and the ship’s banded. 

The decision by the White Star line to carry the musicians as 2nd passengers in order to avoid paying them the shilling that was paid to personnel to make them official members of the crew would come back to haunt the families of the orchestra members. They were unable to claim for financial benefits under the Workman’s Compensation Act. White Star insisted that they were 2^nd class passengers and not covered by the act.  As well Black Brothers in Liverpool completely abdicated their responsibility to the musicians and declared that the  families should seek redress from the insurer. But the insurer claimed they were passengers working as independent contractors and were using Blacks as there booking company. The families finally went to court and the decision rendered was they were passengers working as independent contractors not employees. Even when the Musicians Union made an appeal to the White Star Line saying the men had performed an act of heroism, the Shipping Line did not relent. In the end the Titanic Relief Fund saved the families, which was an umbrella organization for worldwide charities.   The White Star Line   had demonstrated an appalling lack of gratitude to the musicians.

REQUIEM FOR THE MUSICIANS

The military refrain “Ours is not to question why, ours is to but to do or die” echoes throughout the disaster of the Titanic and the response made by Wallace Hartley and the orchestra. Conventional wisdom would tell us it was plain suicide to stand on the boat deck playing while others sought to save themselves. In discussing what took place at the turn of the last century it  is a far cry from today‘s world. Gallantry was not always the domain of the soldier. The official gallantry award system for acts of heroism at sea has evolved since 1854. Noble acts of heroism at sea often took place and were rewarded with a civilian Gallantry medal. The orchestra members were performing in an atmosphere of chaos, well above the call of duty.

The idea of playing music to calm fears and for people to move in an orderly fashion in the face of danger was recognized long before the Titanic disaster. John Philip Sousa the American bandmaster was called upon at various times with his band to quiet down unruly crowds during his outdoor concerts by playing one of his dazzling marches. Bands and orchestras playing for dancing would often break up drunken brawls by breaking into national anthems.  The idea that the passengers on the Titanic were lulled into a false sense of security by the band playing ragtime and that more of   them might have been rescued as has been recently presented may have some merit. We must  however, draw our own conclusions from  the turmoil that took place during the last terrible moments of the demise of the Titanic. The legend of the Titanic band continues to this day. Their devotion to duty has made them immortal.

No one will ever know what was in Wallace Hartley’s mind or that of his musicians.  Earlier in his  career  he told a friend what he might play   if a ship he was on was sinking but he never alluded to the fact that he would remain until the bitter end. The course he took cannot be measured in words; it is the deed that really counts, purely and simply an act of valor. A newspaper at the time of the catastrophe reported “the part played by the orchestra on board the Titanic in her last dreadful moment will rank among the noblest in the annuls of heroism at sea.”

  *Although this piece is not strictly a military band article per se it is in the editors opinion a story worth telling. I welcome your opinion on it's relevance Thanks to Andrew Clarkson  edior and webmaster of the marvelous web site TITANIC-TITANIC this article is now been published. Please go to ARTICLES on the site for a more detailed review. -editor

Bibliography: There are several works from which information was reviewed; this list is by no means the complete list.

Books:

Titanic and Illustrated History - Don Lynch

Unsinkable-The Full Story -Daniel Allen Butler   Stackplole Books-1998

A Night to Remember-Walter Lord -Hold, Rinehart and Winston-1955

The Night Lives On-Walter Lord -Charnwood -1999

Titanic Halifax-A Guide to Sites -Alan Jeffers and Rob Gordon 1998

The \Titanic Song Book-Mel Bay Presents-Collection by Ian Whitcomb 1997

The Sinking of the Titanic Eyewitness Accounts-Edited Jay Henry Mowbray-Dover Publications -1998

Titanic-Simon Adams--Eyewitness Books -1999

Building the Titanic-Rod Green -Readers Digest Books 2005