Titanic Piano

Press Reports: Nearer, My God, To Thee

2012-03-09T19:15:00.000-04:00

Once the press got hold of the information that Titanic's band had perished in the service of comforting passengers by playing Nearer, My God, To Thee, the story was given extensive coverage.

The story was first reported by Carlos Hurd in the Evening World on the evening of April 18, 1912. Although passengers generally did not mention the hymn in letters they had written to loved ones while on board Carpathia, many found ways of including mention of the hymn in their accounts to the press, even when they had not personally heard the music.

Caroline Bonnell, Titanic survivor. April 19, 1912, Christian Science Monitor:
“And those that were in the lifeboats which were close to the vessel say that the orchestra played till the very last and that the men went down into the sea singing "Nearer My God to Thee."”

“Quartermaster Moody.” April 19, 1912, The Evening World:
BAND PLAYED ITS OWN DIRGE
“The band had broken out the strains of “Nearer, My God, To Thee” some minutes before Murdock lifted the revolver to his head, fired and toppled over on his face. Moody saw all this in a vision that filled his brain, while his ears drank in the tragic strain of the beautiful hymn that the band played as their own dirge, even to the moment when the waters sucked them down.”
Note: There is some question as to the identity or existence of Moody.

Mrs. A. A. Dick, Titanic survivor. April 19, 1912, The Evening World Page 3:
"Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Dick of Calgary, Canada, first cabin passengers, left in the second boat. Said Mrs. Dick:
DRIFTED IN BOAT WHILE THE MUSIC PLAYED
It seemed the people were so stunned and dased [sic] that the first few boats were filled indifferently. As we got into the boat and it was guided away, the band was playing ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ and the lights were burning brightly. We drifted around in the boat, it seemed, about four hours until dawn."

Mrs. A. A. Dick, Titanic survivor. April 19, 1912, New York Herald:
"We heard several rounds of shots echoing across the water and learned afterward that many men were shot down as the last boat put away. There were three men shot in the steerage by the second or third officer, we understand. As the steamship went down the band was up forward and we could faintly hear the start of 'Nearer My God to Thee.'

Ada Clarke, Titanic survivor. April 20, Cleveland Plain Dealer:
"Oh, they were brave and splendid, all the men. They died like brave men. At the last, all the men were kneeling and there floated out across the water the strains of ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee.’ I could hear it and saw the band men kneeling, too."

Caroline Brown, Titanic survivor. April 20, 1912, Worchester Evening Gazette:
“The band played marching from deck to deck, and as the ship went under I could still hear the music. The musicians were up to their knees in water the last I saw them.”

Carlos Hurd, Carpathia passenger. April 19, 1912:
"As the screams in the water multiplied, another sound was heard, strong and clear at first, then fainter in the distance. It was the melody of the hymn, ‘Nearer, My God, To Thee,’ played by the string orchestra in the dining saloon. Some of those on the water started to sing the words but grew silent as they realized that for the men who played, the music was a sacrament soon to be consumed by death. The serene strains of the hymn and the frantic cries of the dying blended in a symphony of sorrow."

Thomas Patrick "Paddy" Dillon, Titanic survivor. April 28, 1912, Plymouth, England:
"There was one musician left. He was the violinist and was playing the air of the hymn 'Nearer, My God, To Thee.' The notes of this music were the last thing I heard before I went off the poop and felt myself going headlong into the icy water with the engines and machinery buzzing in my ears."

Reporter. Date unknown, 1912, London Daily Mirror:
BAND GOES DOWN PLAYING
"In the whole history of the sea, there is little equal to the wonderful behaviour of these humble players. In the last moments of the great ship's doom, when all was plainly lost, when braver and hardier men might almost have been excused for doing practically anything to save themselves, they stood responsive to their conductor's baton and played a recessional tune."
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It is difficult to ascertain by these accounts which ones are accurate. Bonnell said only that the band played to the end and that the men were singing Nearer, My God, To Thee (which does not specifically say the band was playing the hymn).

Mrs. A. A. Dick's accounts actually conflicted. In one account it was said she heard the hymn as the second lifeboat was lowered away (early in the sinking), and in the other that it was faintly heard as the ship went down (at the end).

Clarke saw the bandsmen kneeling as they played the hymn while Brown saw them marching from deck to deck. Dillon painted a picture of a solo violinist, while a Daily Mirror reporter painted the opposite picture of a band playing under a conductor's baton (there was no conductor on Titanic).

Is this a matter of confused memories? Creative reporters? The vast variances in these accounts would seem to cast doubt on them all.

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Related Posts
Titanic's Final Number: False testimony?
Carpathia Accounts: Nearer, My God, To Thee

Links
Caroline Bonnell account
Quartermaster Moody account
Mrs. A. A. Dick account (World)

Mrs. A. A. Dick account (Herald)
Ada Clarke account
Caroline Brown account
Carlos Hurd account

Carpathia accounts: Nearer, My God, To Thee

2012-03-07T17:39:00.001-04:00

The Carpathia arrived at the scene of Titanic’s sinking in the early morning hours of April 15 and boarded survivors from Titanic’s lifeboats, which slowly gathered to her side.

The survivors were alive but coping with the trauma of the event they had just witnessed. They were chilled or had frostbite. Some collapsed from exhaustion and stress. The gravity of the loss slowly descended upon them and yet there was still the hope that others had survived and would be picked up by another steamer. It took a whole day for survivors to pick up their pens and write letters to loved ones in an attempt to describe their experiences.

The purpose of this post was to compile first-person accounts of Titanic survivors who mentioned that the band had played Nearer, My God, To Thee as the final number the night Titanic sank, with a focus on the earliest recorded memories written on board Carpathia. The best source for survivor accounts written on Carpathia is George Behe’s book On Board RMS Titanic, Memories of the Maiden Voyage.

It was on April 16 that the first written accounts appeared, personal letters written by survivors to loved ones. I searched the accounts as printed in Behe’s book for mention of the hymn, but most mention only that music was heard and that the band played to the last.

Alice Leader. April 16, 1912, on board Carpathia:
“I shall never forget the sight of that beautiful boat as she went down, the orchestra playing to the last, the lights burning until they were extinguished by the waves.”

Edwina Troutt. April 16, 1912, on board Carpathia:
“The band was playing until the last.”

Emma Schabert. April 18, 1912, on board Carpathia:
“As we went down to our life boats the orchestra was playing in the drawing room. The men who played knew they must sink any minute. That was real heroism.”

William Sloper. April 18, 1912, on board Carpathia:
“Some of the rescued people who were the last to leave the ship told me that when they left the orchestra was playing in the “Lounge,” and that it was brave but ghastly to hear them.”

Laura Cribb. April 18, 1912, on board Carpathia:
“We were so fascinated by the sights on the Titanic, however, that we could not keep our eyes off her until the last lights went out and the final notes of the band were drowned in the hiss and roar that came with the final plunge of the great ship as she sank bow first.”

Marie Young, Titanic survivor. April 18, 1912, on board Carpathia:
“Her wireless call rent the sky, rockets blazed, illuminating the huge iceberg on the starboard side, and her cannon boomed again and again for succour. The incredible sound of music reached us, and with disappearing lights, the roar of explosions and the wail of 1600 agonizing souls, was mingled the heroic music played by what trembling hands God only knows.”
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Only one letter written on the Carpathia mentioned Nearer, My God, To Thee by name, and it was written by Second Class passenger Kate Buss. Interestingly, she, herself, had not heard the hymn. She wrote that it was being said that the hymn had been heard.

Kate Buss. April 16, 1912, on board Carpathia:
“Everything has gone, every single thing but my life.
“The musicians were such nice men. I asked one night for a ‘cello solo, and got it at once. Mr. N[orman] told me on Sunday night that the last thing they played was at his request, and I hear that they were playing “Nearer My God to Thee.”

Buss penned these words* on April 16, one day after the event. It is known that Carlos Hurd, a reporter who was a passenger on board Carpathia through all this, was mingling with survivors collecting first-person accounts. By Buss’s letter it can be surmised that she overheard (or took part in) a conversation between Hurd and several passengers in which the hymn was discussed.

It is quite surprising that more evidence in favor of the hymn did not surface from letters written on Carpathia. One wonders how extensively the hymn was discussed between survivors en route to New York. If any readers have additional letters written on Carpathia which mention the band, the music or even Nearer, My God, To Thee specifically, you are invited to share.
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Related Posts
*For discussion on the accuracy of Buss’s understanding of this point, please read Sunday Night Part II How accurate are passenger accounts?. In short, Buss confused the final number from the band’s regular evening performance (the one Norman requested) with the final number the band played before the ship sank.
Titanic and the Science of Memory
Carlos Hurd: Nearer, My God, To Thee

Van Anda New York Times: 'Autumn'

2012-03-05T08:39:00.000-04:00

The last lifeboat had been lowered, the captain had released the Marconi operators of duty, and Jack Phillips, Titanic’s senior wireless operator, continued to send messages for the next ten to fifteen minutes. Junior operator, Harold Bride, watched him standing over the key, unable to leave his post. Water began to flood the Marconi room. When the operators finally abandoned their post Bride watched Phillips run aft in an attempt to save himself. At that moment he heard the band playing 'Autumn'.

When Carpathia docked in New York at the Cunard Pier with Titanic’s survivors on Thursday, April 18, 1912, New York Times' managing editor Carr Van Anda, by stroke of luck or genius, found his way on board. With Mr. Marconi he visited the Marconi room and interviewed Titanic’s surviving wireless operator, Harold Bride. The interview was published the next day, and was reprinted by public demand on April 28.

In the printed interview, which seemed to be a verbatim retelling of his oral account, Bride first described his time on board Carpathia.
“When I was dragged aboard the Carpathia I went to the hospital at first. I stayed there for ten hours. Then somebody brought word that the Carpathia’s wireless operator was “getting queer” from the work. They asked me if I could go up and help. I could not walk. Both my feet were broken or something, I don’t know what. I went up on crutches with somebody helping me. I took the key, and I never left the wireless cabin after that.” (Van Anda)

When Bride’s story turned to the Titanic he explained that the wireless had broken down on Sunday, April 14, early enough in the day for Phillips to fix it. Bride was asleep when Titanic struck ice and felt no jolt. When Captain E. J. Smith stuck his head in the door of the wireless room and informed them that the ship had struck ice it was the first they were aware of the problem. Phillips, Bride and Captain Smith shared a laugh when the first C. Q. D. and S. O. S. messages were sent.

Although his story was not told completely in chronological order, it is interesting to note that his first mention of the band came after the Captain had released Bride and Phillips of duty, saying it was “Every man for himself.”

BAND PLAYS RAG-TIME
“From aft came the tunes of the band. It was a rag-time tune, I don’t know what. Then there was 'Autumn.' Phillips ran aft, and that was the last I ever saw of him alive.” (Van Anda)

Bride was washed off the bow holding on to an upturned collapsible lifeboat that was never properly launched.
“I had only one thing on my mind – to get away from the suction. The band was still playing. I guess all of the band went down. They were playing 'Autumn' then.” (Van Anda)

Bride described the harrowing night balancing on the upside-down lifeboat with a number of men, and then his dedicated work on Carpathia sending wireless messages of grief to family and friends. In conclusion his thoughts returned to the two things that stood out most to him about the night Titanic sank.
“The way the band kept playing was a noble thing. I heard it first while still we were working wireless, when there was a ragtime tune for us, and the last I saw of the band, when I was floating out in the sea with my lifebelt on, it was still on deck playing 'Autumn.' How they ever did it I cannot imagine. That and the way Phillips kept sending after the Captain told him his life was his own, and to look out for himself, are two things that stand out in my mind over all the rest.” (Van Anda)
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To analyze Bride's memories of the band's music, it would seem as though the operators worked in isolation for most of the sinking, with only occasional visits from the Captain to update them on the situation for the purpose of sending accurate messages. The band was performing at the top of the Grand Staircase, aft, just a turn or two down the corridor of the officers' command rooms, and beyond one closed door which separated the staircase where passengers traversed and the area where officers worked. With the doors to the staircase and the Marconi room closed the operators would not have heard the band's music.

However, near the end it is likely that the doors were left open, the decorum relaxing as the state of the situation worsened. Bride's exact wording was, "I heard it first while still we were working wireless..." which suggests it was after they had been released. It was an upbeat number that he couldn't name.
“From aft came the tunes of the band. It was a rag-time tune, I don’t know what." (Van Anda)

Songe d’automne is about six minutes long if performed to the end. From Bride’s account we can gather that his memory of watching Phillips running aft was tied in with hearing Songe d’automne, perhaps the music near the beginning of the piece.
"Then there was 'Autumn.' Phillips ran aft, and that was the last I ever saw of him alive.” (Van Anda)

As he floated away from the ship he was still able to hear the band playing this number.
"... it was still on deck playing 'Autumn.' " (Van Anda)

According to Nader’s theory on the science of memory* it is the act of recalling and discussing memories that leaves them open to adaptation. Bride was separate from the other survivors for the duration of the voyage on Carpathia. It was unlikely he had discussed his memories with anyone until asked by Van Anda in the New York harbour. This point adds weight to the accuracy of his account.

Related Posts
*Titanic and the Science of Memory
Titanic's Final Number: Three Note Theory
Titanic's Final Number: Logistics, proximity and a good ear

Links
Harold Bride’s account reprinted in full in the New York Times on April 28.
Harold Bride’s statement.

Carlos Hurd: Nearer, My God, To Thee

2012-02-28T08:53:00.001-04:00

It has been suggested that it would be interesting to discuss Titanic's passenger accounts and compare and contrast those who went down with the ship (and survived) with those who witnessed the event from lifeboats.

Two reports in particular launched what would become the great mystery of Titanic’s final number.

The first was Carlos Hurd’s report that passengers had heard Nearer, My God, To Thee from their lifeboats. His story was the earliest to break that news, and was printed in the New York World, evening edition, on April 18, 1912, the very night Carpathia arrived in New York with Titanic’s survivors. Hurd was a reporter who had been on board Carpathia as a passenger when the ship answered the distress call from Titanic and rushed to her aid. For several days, as Carpathia steamed back to New York, he collected first hand accounts from Titanic’s survivors.

Evening Post April 18, 1912, Extra edition
Headline:
Band Played “Nearer, My God, To Thee” As the Mammoth Vessel Sank Beneath the Waves

…The ship’s string band gathered in the saloon, near the end, and played “Nearer My God to Thee.”

The following day, on Friday, April 19, 1912, a more complete story ran:
"As the screams in the water multiplied, another sound was heard, strong and clear at first, then fainter in the distance. It was the melody of the hymn, ‘Nearer, My God, To Thee,’ played by the string orchestra in the dining saloon. Some of those on the water started to sing the words but grew silent as they realized that for the men who played, the music was a sacrament soon to be consumed by death. The serene strains of the hymn and the frantic cries of the dying blended in a symphony of sorrow."

Front page of St. Louis Post-Dispach
featuring a story by Carlos Hurd

But on April 20 Hurd was quoted in the Leeds Mercury with his own opinion concerning this story.
"To relate that as the last boats moved away the ship’s string band gathered in the saloon and played ‘Nearer, My God, To Thee’ sounds like an attempt to give added colour to a scene which was in itself the climax of solemnity, but various passengers and survivors of the crew agree in declaring they heard this music."

Two decades after Titanic sank, Hurd again questioned the hymn. It seemed unlikely to him that survivors had been able to hear the music above the “distracting noises”:
"The endeavor to fit such a story together showed how fragmentary was the knowledge of individuals. One would mention an incident which could be confirmed and completed only by another….An instance of this difficulty was…the playing of the hymn music by the English musicians in the sinking ship’s orchestra. Several persons told of having heard this music from their boats, but, because of distracting noises, they could not be sure what the melody was. Two women, who professed familiarity with sacred music, said it was “Nearer, My God, To Thee.” The statement appeared in my report and gained general currency."

It might seem as though I had based my Three Note Theory* on Hurd’s April 19 report, but the truth is that the idea came to me in the middle of writing "The story of music on board the RMS TITANIC, an article I wrote for Clavier Companion magazine. Only later did I realize the similarity of my theory to Hurd’s report. When re-read in the context of a performance of Songe d’automne, it actually makes a lot of sense.

My theory proposes that Autumn’s first three notes, which are identical to the opening of Nearer, My God, To Thee, were heard across the water, and that the melody was played by the cello, which had the dynamic capability to project with clarity:
"… another sound was heard, strong and clear at first…" (Hurd)

Then as the music moved through the phrase, softening (musicians are taught to play with a diminuendo, meaning gradually softer, with a descending line of pitches), and diverged to a tune which was increasingly different from Nearer, My God, To Thee:
"…then fainter in the distance." (Hurd)

Several reports have said there was singing. It could be a historic fact that people began to sing the most familiar verse of Nearer, My God, To Thee, with the belief that they were joining in with the band after hearing the opening notes. While the survivors sang in the distant boats, their voices would have blocked the faint strains of Songe d’automne.
"... Some of those on the water started to sing the words but grew silent as they realized that for the men who played, the music was a sacrament soon to be consumed by death." (Hurd)

The cries in the water gradually covered the music of the waltz and created a veil of “distracting noises”, which hid Songe d’automne’s melody.
"The serene strains of the hymn and the frantic cries of the dying blended in a symphony of sorrow." (Hurd)
"Several persons told of having heard this music from their boats, but, because of distracting noises, they could not be sure what the melody was." (Hurd)

After several days on the ocean, steaming back to New York with 712 survivors, and collecting their accounts, Hurd’s report on the hymn originated with two positive identifications of the final tune the band played.
"Two women, who professed familiarity with sacred music, said it was 'Nearer, My God, To Thee.'" (Hurd)

Hurd was the first one who spoke with survivors in person, the first one who heard their memories. And it was Hurd who realized just how uncertain the survivors were, themselves, with the precise details of what they had experienced. It was he who understood how much uncertainty there was about Nearer, My God, To Thee.
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Related Posts
*Titanic's Final Number: Three Note Theory
CBC Mainstreet Interview 05 January 2012 (to view the online version of the magazine article "The story of music on board the RMS TITANIC" simply click the image)

Links
New York World April 18, 1912, evening edition

Titanic and the Science of Memory

2012-02-24T08:33:00.000-04:00

How reliable is eyewitness memory? Can it be assumed that everything an eyewitness remembers about an event is true to a letter simply because they were there? What about details that don’t match up between accounts when compared side-by-side?

Because the current topic on Titanic Piano has been the music played on board Titanic, most recently focusing on the last number played by Titanic’s band, the question of survivor memory has surfaced. How is it possible that survivors recalled two different pieces of (similar*) music as the final number?

In the instance of the sinking of the Titanic, survivors were touched by the music they heard, however clearly or faintly, performed by the band. How reliable were their memories and were they susceptible to alteration? Or could the memories of one person have influenced the memories of another?

A google search on the science of memory brings up an article called "How Our Brains Make Memories" featuring the work of Karim Nader, an expert on the malleability of memory.

A comparable event to the sinking of Titanic was the September 11, 2001 attack on the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center. It was a tragedy that riveted the world’s attention and was covered extensively by the media. It was also an event that eyewitnesses were called on to describe in detail. Nader, himself, witnessed the twin towers burn and fall from a rooftop less than two miles away. Yet, he hesitates to trust his own memories of the event.

Here is an example of how his own memory fooled him: Nader was sure that on September 11 he had watched TV footage of the first plane hitting the north tower of the World Trade Center. It was part of what he definitely remembered experiencing that day. However, he was surprised to find out years later that that particular footage was first aired the day after, on September 12. A small error of memory, yet it demonstrated to him that his eyewitness experience of 9/11 had changed. And he wasn’t the only one who had mixed this memory in with the day of the tragedy.

Nader has developed a new theory on the life cycle of memory. He proposes that a memory is initially made and stored in the brain, but then each time it is opened up and talked about, it is then re-stored in the brain anew, as though remembered for the first time.

“Television and other media coverage reinforce the central facts. But recalling the experience to other people may allow distortions to creep in. “When you retell it, the memory becomes plastic, and whatever is present around you in the environment can interfere with the original content of the memory,” Hardt [a postdoctoral researcher in Nader’s lab] says. In the days following September 11, for example, people likely repeatedly rehashed their own personal stories—“where were you when you heard the news?”—in conversations with friends and family, perhaps allowing details of other people’s stories to mix with their own.”

This was precisely the scene on the Carpathia, the ship that carried Titanic’s survivors to New York, where survivors discussed the event together and tried to understand what had happened. Nader’s theory on memory would suggest that each time the survivors recalled and retold their stories to one another, their brains were at work recoding those memories, possibly with slight adjustments.

With events like the sinking of the Titanic, people retold their stories over and over within days, months, years and decades of the tragedy. How many times would their minds have been called upon to remember and re-store their memories? How many opportunities were there for their memories to encode slight changes? Without them even knowing it was happening?

My next several posts are going to turn to survivor memories of the sinking, with a special focus on the final piece played. Is it possible that Nader’s theory on memory could help explain variances and similarities in Titanic’s survivor accounts?
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Related Posts
*Titanic's final number: Three Note Theory
Titanic's final number: The healing power of music

Link
Nader's theory on How Our Brains Make Memories

Titanic’s final number: The healing power of music

2012-02-20T09:44:00.002-04:00

Healing power of music
The hymn Nearer, My God, To Thee is inexorably connected with the legend of the sinking of the Titanic. In 1912 the idea that friends or relatives had died a needless death within the comfort of uplifting music gave solace to many on land.

So much time has passed now that we can analyze and explain without encroaching on the feelings of anyone directly involved. In the end it is a beautiful thought to believe that the hymn was part of the experience. You are free to imagine a scene like the one in James Cameron’s movie Titanic: the musicians serenely taking up their instruments, playing a requiem to the dying, knowing they, themselves were about to die.

The passengers who at first thought they had heard the hymn ultimately came to believe they truly had heard it. Nearer, My God, To Thee was part of their experience of the sinking of the great steamer, part of the tragedy of leaving loved ones behind and knowing not whether they would meet again. The reason survivors heard the hymn from their lifeboats was because at that moment they needed to hear it.

Once news of the hymn became public, Nearer, My God, To Thee became part of the healing process for other survivors and the public at large who tried to come to grips with the horrific nature of the tragedy. The public as a whole looked to the hymn as a beacon of hope in the disaster’s wake. The reason the public believed without question that the hymn had been played by the band was because after the shock of the event they needed to believe it.

The interesting thing is that the public still wants to believe that Nearer, My God, To Thee was the last piece performed by Titanic’s band. Even in today’s secular world the hymn is the favored piece.

Is public opinion the measure of truth?

A love triangle: Press, Public and Hymn.
Within a day of Carpathia’s arrival in New York two pieces were identified as having been heard in Titanic’s last moments. But only one was reported on over and over again.

Today the hymn is still news. When interviewed on January 5, 2012 by CBC radio about my Titanic Piano blog, there were several topics we discussed in the preliminary call. But once I mentioned I had a new theory on Titanic’s last number – that was the big ticket. And the interview focused on the hymn. The interview was re-broadcast at least twice across Canada and posted on the website for international listeners.

On February 10, 2012, I posted my Three Note Theory and CBC radio interviewed me once again. My theory supported Songe d’automne as the band’s final number. This interview was simply filed away and wasn’t even made available on the website.

I have never expected to get a lot of support for my new theory, but I am personally quite excited by the potential to answer, with three simple notes, so many questions that hang around the band’s final number.

On this blog I’ve posted two theories on Titanic’s last number: the first that Wallace Hartley played Nearer, My God, To Thee as a violin solo (the Hartley Solo Theory*), and the second that Songe d’automne was mistaken for the hymn in distant lifeboats (the Three Note Theory*). Which one has the most pageviews? You guessed it: the Hartley Solo Theory, by a long shot. To be honest, that’s what I expected.

To the public, nothing is ever going to change the fact that Nearer, My God, To Thee is part of Titanic’s story. Let the legend live on.

Related Posts
Titanic's final number: Hartley Solo Theory
Titanic's final number: Three Note Theory

Titanic's final number: Cello penetrates other sounds

2012-02-17T14:17:00.000-04:00

Speaking of acoustics*, there is one more reason I believe my Three Note Theory* has a good chance of explaining the question of Titanic’s final number. This point depends on the accuracy of the arrangements of Songe d’automne. In present-day arrangements it is the cello, in its upper register, that plays the melody of the introduction.

The original key signature of Songe d’automne is c minor. The first three notes are as follows: G, F and E-flat above Middle C.

One reason I believe Titanic’s survivors heard this melody wafted on the air for one brief moment was because the instrument playing the tune was indeed the cello.

Here is the cello’s range. You can see that Songe d’automne’s opening phrase falls within its mid-to-high register.

The cello's open strings and range
(15ma indicates two octaves higher)

Compare that to the violin’s range, and the same notes would fall within this instrument’s low register.

The violin's open strings and range

The significance of this comparison has to do with each instrument’s ability to project within this specific range.

Because the cello is a much bigger instrument than the violin physically, mid-to-high pitches played solo on the cello carry with more volume of sound, and are more “dynamic” than the same pitches on the violin.

The sound of the solo cello in the mid-to-high register has a gripping, wrenching quality. In this range a single cello can be heard above an entire orchestra. It is the same with the violin in its own upper range. But the violin playing the pitches G, F, and E-flat above Middle C (the opening of Songe d’automne) would not have the same level of strength as the cello on the same pitches. The violin playing this music solo would have a deep-honey, fuzzy quality, and would not carry as well.

Dvorak Cello Concerto (the cello begins at 4:30) with notes in the mid-to-high register:

In the same way the cello can be heard above an orchestra, a cello playing the waltz’s introduction would have had the dynamic power to penetrate through the other noises on Titanic in her last moments.

It is true that most people have become accustomed to the idea that Titanic’s band played Nearer, My God, To Thee and that it was Wallace Hartley’s violin that carried the tune. But there is a real possibility that the last music truly played by the band was Songe d’automne and that it was Wes Woodward’s cello that carried the tune.
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Related Posts
Titanic's final number: Grand Acoustics
Titanic's final number: Three Note Theory

Titanic's final number: Grand Acoustics

2012-02-15T08:10:00.001-04:00

For a moment let us dwell on this question: how clearly would those in Titanic’s lifeboats have heard the band's music?

Most movies depict the band performing on the outer deck. Within that scenario it is easy to believe the music was heard in full phrases and melodies from the lifeboats. But for several reasons, which shall be discussed in future posts, it is most likely that the band performed inside at the top of the Grand Staircase throughout the sinking. With the band performing inside the ship it is unlikely people in lifeboats heard any of the music clearly.

I am no expert on acoustics, but I am aware of the fact that a room or enclosed space can act like a resonant body to pick up the vibrations of music and act to project the sounds. The cavity of the Grand Staircase could have worked like the body of a guitar or a drum to slightly magnify the band’s music.

Others know more about the construction of the ship than I, but I believe that even the ornate dome above the Grand Staircase had an inner and outer layer. It is this kind of double layer that enhances sound. For this reason I do believe the survivors heard wafts of music on the air amongst other sounds, even if the outer deck doors to the Grand Staircase were closed.

This quote caught my attention. Margaret Brown said of her experience in lifeboat No. 6: “All the time while rowing we were facing the starboard side of the sinking vessel. By that time E & C decks were completely submerged, and the strains of music became fainter, as though the instruments were filling up with water….”

The first time I read this I dismissed Brown’s description because I felt it was unlikely the musicians played until water had filled their instruments. But after some thought I have come to believe Brown was attempting to describe something else here, and it may have been the acoustical properties of Titanic's Grand Staircase as a performance room. As the ship filled with water, the Grand Staircase along with it, the resonant area would have been steadily shrinking. Therefore, the strength of the sound emitted from the room would have become weaker, and even the sound quality would have changed as the water rose to the top. The music would literally have sounded like it was “filling with water”.

Hearing wafts of music is not the same as hearing real music. The band’s tunes heard from a distance in Titanic’s lifeboats would have been at a constant, almost imperceptible muffled volume when the deck doors were closed. Across the water listeners would have known the musicians were playing, but would have been unable to identify the music.

Then, the music would have sounded slightly louder at unpredictable and intermittent intervals when the deck doors of the Grand Staircase were opened. In these moments several beats of music would have reached out across the water with greater clarity, but again, it is unlikely from these excerpts that the survivors would have been able to identify the music. And all the while there was the general din of hurried activity on the ship.

As Titanic’s final plunge drew near, the sounds of people on the ship and in the water formed a gradual crescendo, and it was around this time when the hymn Nearer, My God, To Thee, was supposedly heard. However, I am unwilling to suggest the survivors in lifeboats did not hear the music at all. I believe they heard the sounds of music in general and then something for a moment that reminded them of the hymn, and that it was the opening phrase of Songe d'automne*.
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*Titanic's final number: Three Note Theory
Carpathia Accounts: Nearer, My God, To Thee

Titanic's final number: Three Note Theory

2012-02-10T07:39:00.000-04:00

After a century, is it possible to discover anything new about the final piece that was played by Titanic’s band? The unanswered question of the last piece is well documented. Most people who know the story of the Titanic are aware that experts cannot agree on whether it was Nearer, My God, To Thee or the mysterious ‘Autumn’.

Based on the title alone, Walter Lord (author of A Night to Remember) speculated that Harold Bride’s ‘Autumn’ was Songe d’automne. Fred Vallance, who had been a bandleader on Laconia in 1912, pointed out that British people referred to the popular waltz simply as ‘Autumn’ (as Bride had called it), and that musicians had agreed that Bride had been referring to that number.

Songe d’automne, original key:

Lord’s Songe d’automne theory gained support from some Titanic historians, but others have remained loyal to (or returned to) the idea that Nearer, My God, To Thee was the final performance. Several survivors had claimed they heard the hymn, and it was given so much press that the idea stuck.

Nearer, My God, To Thee, original key:

But what did the survivors really hear in their lifeboats? The sea was glassy and flat. The sound of the band’s music would have been faint, but it would have carried. They heard something.

Three Note Theory
I would like to propose a new theory of what was played and heard that night. I believe I can provide musical evidence that the final number played by the band was indeed Songe d’automne, but that the survivors at a distance who heard it thought they heard Nearer, My God, To Thee.

Let me walk my readers through my analysis so musicians and non-musicians alike can all understand how Songe d'automne could be mistaken for the hymn. For the sake of this analysis I am going to compare the melodies of the two pieces of music in a way that they begin on the same pitch (note).

My theory can all be boiled down to three notes. Most people are familiar with the tune of Hot Cross Buns. Sing that tune slowly. (Please turn down your volume to play the clips.)

MPEG QuickTime QT Player AirPlay

Now sing it with the opening notes of Songe d’automne.

MPEG QuickTime QT Player AirPlay

Now sing it with the opening notes of Nearer, My God, To Thee, set to Bethany.

MPEG QuickTime QT Player AirPlay

You should hear that both pieces begin with the same tune.

Harold Bride wasn’t the only one with good ears the night Titanic sank. Sitting in silence on the calm water were several hundred passengers in lifeboats.

The opening melody of Songe d’automne begins with a gripping tune that cries out then wilts downward with a melancholic turn. This phrase of music would have reached out across the still water to the survivors, who had nothing to do but wait and listen – especially the first three notes, the rest fading a bit as the musicians played softer to the end of the phrase. But the ocean-bound audience caught enough to hear a tune that spoke to their hearts.

Heard from a distance, the music sounded so similar in melody and rhythm to Nearer, My God, To Thee that survivors sitting in the lifeboats thought they heard the hymn.

After those first three notes some of them may have even picked up the tune and begun to sing. Several survivor accounts mention that people were heard singing Nearer, My God, To Thee. Some thought they heard the singing from the ship, but it is more likely that they heard survivors in other lifeboats carrying the tune.

“As the screams in the water multiplied, another sound was heard, strong and clear at first, then fainter in the distance. It was the melody of the hymn ‘Nearer, My God, To Thee,’ played by the string orchestra…. Some of those on the water started to sing the words….” (As reported by Carlos Hurd, Evening World, April 19, 1912.)

To analyze the opening measures of Songe d’Automne, and compare them to the opening measures of Nearer, My God, To Thee (Bethany setting), one can see how similar the two melodies are.

*The curved line is a tie which indicates that the two connected notes are sustained in one continuous sound.

Allow me to get a little technical now and describe my theory in musical terminology. The first three notes of both melodies form a descending line of intervals comprised of a major second followed by another major second. It matters not that Songe d’automne is in a minor key and Nearer, My God, To Thee is in a major key. The opening intervals of both melodies are identical. Beyond the first three notes, the phrases of both melodies continue on to follow a similar melodic contour.

Also, the rhythm bears an uncanny similarity. While not identical, both follow a pattern of a sustained long note followed by two quarter notes (quavers).

What could this cross-reference mean?
Beyond the anecdotal evidence from Bride or other survivors, this music analysis provides a fascinating cross-reference between the melodies in question.

This theory could reconcile why two different numbers were identified as the last piece. From a distance, the lifeboat survivors heard music that sounded like the opening of Nearer, My God, To Thee. The music then faded from the opening, or was covered by singing and other sounds associated with the sinking. Heard on the ship, the music continued from the opening and Harold Bride heard the band's last piece, Autumn. By extension this theory could also explain why those in lifeboats insisted they had heard the hymn, and those on the ship insisted they had not.

This theory could answer the question of which version of the hymn was heard. The setting of Nearer, My God, To Thee that most closely resembles Songe d’automne is Bethany.

This theory could also confirm what Harold Bride meant by Autumn. If the tune that was actually performed by the band sounded like Nearer, My God, To Thee from a distance, then the music must have carried a striking similarity to the hymn. Songe d’automne fits that description perfectly.

The analysis of the music itself lends credibility to all the passenger accounts. No longer should the focus be on two opposing ideas, one that Autumn was the final piece, and the other that the hymn was the final piece. With the Three Note Theory, it is understood that from one single performance, both pieces of music were heard and experienced by those who lived or died the night Titanic sank.
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Titanic's final number: False testimony?

2012-02-08T08:07:00.000-04:00

The Hartley Solo Theory* is an interesting one. Perhaps there is additional evidence somewhere to support it, another survivor on board who witnessed the performance up close. Is it wise to base a theory on just one witness? Once again this theory falls into question, this time based on Thomas Patrick (Paddy) Dillon’s own eyewitness account.

Dillon’s story was printed in the local paper in Plymouth, England, on April 28. According to Dillon, the forward part of Titanic broke off like a piece of carrot. From the poop he saw the musicians swept off the deck into the water.

“There was one musician left. He was the violinist and was playing the air [solo] of the hymn Nearer, My God, To Thee. The notes of this music were the last thing I heard before I went off the poop and felt myself going headlong into the icy water with the engines and machinery buzzing in my ears.”

Dillon would not have had a view of Titanic's First Class performance venue from where he stood on the poop deck in Third Class. For Dillon’s account to be true, the solo violinist would have to have found a way to perform on the aft part of the ship, which was at that point severed and teetering on the verge of going down.

And why not? Hartley could have been one of the people who ascended Titanic's sloping deck, looking for refuge at the rising stern. He could have found a safe spot to perform the hymn, perhaps leaning against something as the ship tipped forward.

But Dillon's story as told by the local newspaper in Plymouth was not the story he told on Day 5 of the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry.

3870. (Mr. Raymond Asquith.) Then you say the ship plunged and righted herself again; and was it then that you dived into the water? 
- I did not dive into the water.

3871. How did you get off the ship into the water? 
- I went down with the ship, and shoved myself away from her into the water.

Are we to believe it was at that moment when Dillon heard Nearer, My God, To Thee performed by Titanic's last standing musician? The paper did quote him as saying, “The notes of this music were the last thing I heard before I went off the poop….”

Oh, there is also the matter of the engines and machinery buzzing in his ears – if the engines had been stopped around the time Titanic struck ice, would they have still been making noise as the last piece of the ship sank? It seems as though Dillon was either a very inventive storyteller, or he was the victim of a creative reporter. In any case, because he changed the context of how he left the ship, it comes into question where, when and if he heard the hymn performed by a solo violinist.

The majority of the survivors who had heard Nearer, My God, To Thee were those who listened from their lifeboats. On the night of Titanic’s sinking, what did they really hear?

To be continued…
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Titanic’s final number: Hartley's violin

2012-02-06T08:02:00.000-04:00

With only moments to spare did Wallace Hartley have time to play a solo of Nearer, My God, To Thee? Keep in mind that at around 2:17 a.m. Harold Bride, Marconi operator, washed free of Titanic on a collapsible lifeboat. At the time he heard strains of a piece of music (that was not a hymn) from the band that was still playing. Titanic was about to sink at 2:20 a.m.

New evidence may have surfaced to help answer this question. At this time there is a violin being verified that may be the one Wallace Hartley played on the Titanic. His body was recovered with his music case attached, but mysteriously the violin had never been returned to his family. Hartley’s instrument had been an engagement gift from his fiancé, Maria Robinson, and there is evidence that she had written to authorities in Nova Scotia to have it returned directly to her.

Detail from a tribute violin, Lancashire, England

It is quite believable that Hartley saved his violin. It is difficult to imagine any musician taking great care to save only his empty instrument case. Hartley’s was bulky and would have impeded his ability to manoeuver and try to save himself. It only makes sense for him to have gone to such measures for the purpose of saving a violin that carried great sentimental value to him.

If the violin proves to be authentic, then one must consider how it came to be preserved in the first place. Hartley must have taken the time in his last moments to pack it away and strap the case on over his lifebelt. This evidence alone washes away any notion that the band was swept off the deck while still performing. For the purposes of our Hartley Solo Theory*, the existence of the violin casts a shadow on the idea that Hartley had the time (or took the time) to play Nearer, My God, To Thee.

To be continued...
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*Titanic's final number: Hartley Solo Theory
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Titanic's final number: Hartley Solo Theory

2012-02-03T08:09:00.001-04:00

So many survivors attested to having heard Nearer, My God, To Thee that it deserves special consideration. In my last post* I discussed that the band would have needed a printed arrangement to have performed the hymn. But what if the band did not have one? Was there still a chance that the hymn was performed? The short answer is yes.

There is one eyewitness account to support the idea that Nearer My God to Thee was performed as a solo. A man who remained on the ship until the last and survived was coal trimmer Paddy Dillon. From the poop deck he saw the ship break in two, when he said the musicians slid off the deck. Dillon recalled, “There was one musician left. He was the violinist and was playing the air of the hymn Nearer My God To Thee. The notes of this music were the last thing I heard before I went off the poop and felt myself going headlong in the icy water….”

The “air” refers to the tune without any of the harmony, in essence, a solo.

Hartley Solo theory.
There was one musician on board who may have been able to play the hymn from memory, even under duress.

Wallace Hartley had grown up the son of a choirmaster. Hartley Sr. had introduced Nearer, My God, To Thee to his church, Bethel Chapel, and he often chose the selection for their services. A cousin who grew up with Wallace Hartley recalled him practicing the hymn in variations on his violin.

Was it possible that Wallace Hartley played it as a solo from memory after the rest of the band deserted the performance venue? After all, his parents noted that it had been his favorite piece (the Propior Deo version).

MPEG QuickTime QT Player AirPlay

Moreover, Hartley had told a friend once that should he ever find himself on a sinking ship he didn’t think he “…would do better than to play Oh God Our Help in Ages Past or Nearer, My God, To Thee.” Wallace Hartley’s parents were so convinced that he had performed the hymn that they had the first notes of Propior Deo inscribed on his gravestone.

This theory proposes that the last number performed by the complete band was ‘Autumn’ and after they disbanded, that Hartley performed Nearer, My God, To Thee as a solo.

To depict the whole band playing the hymn in the movies, any of the hymn's versions would do.

But if it was ever to be written into a stage play or film that Hartley played a solo, it would only be historically accurate to give Hartley's family credit and depict him playing Nearer, My God, To Thee set to Propior Deo.

To be continued…

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Sheets, hymnbook or by heart? - Nearer, My God, To Thee

2012-02-01T10:13:00.001-04:00

Hymn Arrangement
Nearer, My God, To Thee was not listed in the White Star Line songbook. However, under the category “Suites, Fantasias, etc.” the songbook did have the general line, “National Anthems, Hymns &c., of all Nations”. This is one of those subjects that is open to question – could Nearer, My God, To Thee have been one of the unlisted hymns for which the band had an arrangement? If so, which version of the hymn?

In the absence of an arrangement, was it possible for the band to have played from a hymnbook? There must have been several on board, as passengers were known to have played for Sunday services that very day.

The pianist conceivably could have played the four part harmony, with the strings dividing up the soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices. To stretch our imaginations, it could even be remotely possible that the band members read from a single copy – if they had very good eyesight and stood close together.

Did the Band Play Nearer, My God, To Thee by Heart?

Typically in movies Titanic's musicians are depicted playing Nearer, My God, To Thee by memory or improvisation, on the spur of the moment, caught up by the emotion of the event. So, let's talk about this in musical terms.

In the very last moments, would it have been musically possible for the band to improvise by ear – discussing beforehand which key to play it in, discussing which tune they should play (the one Americans would recognize, or British, or a particular band member's choice just because it was his personal favourite?), then explaining it to the Catholic bandsmen who may not have known it? To the public it may seem a simple matter for musicians who normally play from arrangements* to adjust to playing by ear on the spot, but indeed it is not.

And what about the time? If Autumn was heard when the bow went under, would there have been time in the few remaining moments (before the angle was too great) for the band to pull together an ad hoc performance of Nearer, My God, To Thee?

Imagine these final moments when the ship was tipping forward at an ever-increasing pitch and death was eminent. Would any musician in this situation have been able to focus on the next chord in the progression and then analyze by ear which part of that harmony to voice on their instrument? Could a group hold together and do that?

Well, it makes for a riveting scene in a movie to see the band play the hymn by heart as Titanic becomes engulfed by the ocean. But if historical accuracy is the goal, perhaps movie makers should depict the band playing from a printed arrangement of some kind. If Nearer, My God, To Thee was performed by Titanic’s band, I do not believe they could have performed it any other way, under these circumstances.
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Titanic's final number: Logistics, proximity and a good ear

2012-01-30T08:22:00.000-04:00

From the moment Titanic had begun to take on water until about 2:17 a.m., the ship had been sinking steadily, but with only a slight list. It would have been possible for the band to play during those hours. The music stands would have stood erect, the cellists’ chairs would have stayed in place, the standing bandsmen would have stood without wavering, and the sheets would have stayed on the stands without slipping off.

What happened next? The band's last moments have been the subject of many discussions. When reading accounts, consider the survivor's proximity to the ship and whether their story works logistically. Oh, and consider their "ear".

Logistics
So, at 2:17 wireless operator Harold Bride was washed off the ship on a collapsible lifeboat when the bow slipped beneath the waves. At that time he heard the band playing. For the next several minutes until the ship sank the angle got steeper by the second. Within three minutes the ship had completely sunk (estimated at 2:20 a.m., April 15).

The ever-increasing angle of the ship as it tipped forward would have made performance impossible in the final moments. Not even counting the human element of distraction (the realization that this was the end), consider the music stands, chairs, one’s footing, and gravity pulling the sheet music away. Whoever suggested that the waves had engulfed the musicians while they continued to play was being dramatic and had no understanding of the logistics of performance.

Proximity
Survivor Caroline Brown watched the event from a lifeboat. “The band played marching from deck to deck, and as the ship went under I could still hear the music. The musicians were up to their knees in water the last time I saw them.” From her account one would believe Titanic had a brass band that continued to march until they were wading through water. However, all the musicians but the pianist played strings, and we know the cellists and double bassist weren’t marching. In my opinion, this account was a product of Brown's lively imagination.

Survivor A. H. Barkworth remained on board until the last. “I do not wish to detract from the bravery of anybody, but I might mention that when I first came on deck the band was playing a waltz. The next time I passed where the band had been stationed, the members had thrown down their instruments and were not to be seen.” Barkworth painted a more realistic picture.

The accounts of eyewitness survivors who were in lifeboats cannot be considered nearly as reliable as those who were on board. Yes, they experienced the event in person, from the vantage point of their lifeboats. But when weighing the evidence on the band's final performance, including which piece they played in the last moments, proximity to the ship matters.

A Good Ear
Not only did Harold Bride hear the band playing in Titanic's last moments, he was able to identify the music he heard, though only with the cryptic, unexplained title ‘Autumn’. This music had had such a big impact on him that he mentioned it several times while giving his oral account of the event. He kept coming back to the haunting memory of that music, it had touched him so.

Why is his account so reliable? Besides the fact that he was close enough to the ship to be a trustworthy witness, he had been born with an excellent sense of hearing. He was a wireless operator. His livelihood depended on his acute, innate auditory sense. Not only would he have employed this talent while he worked, but every life experience he had would have been imbued with a memory of what he had heard, as well as what he saw. All through the telling of his experience of the night of April 14-15 was the impression the music had made on him. Because of Bride’s reliable ear it can be believed with certainty that at the moment Titanic’s bow went under, Autumn music was in the air.

To be continued…

Titanic's final number: A century of debate

2012-01-27T08:04:00.000-04:00

For a century it has been debated which was the last piece of music played by Titanic’s band. As soon as survivors rescued by the steamer Carpathia were able to communicate with the outside world about the event, word spread that they had heard strains of the hymn Nearer, My God, To Thee in their lifeboats from across the water. There was such a unified chorus of people swearing they had heard the hymn that it was impossible to ignore the eyewitness testimony.

The men who had not gained a space in a lifeboat, who remained on the ship until it sank and later miraculously survived, had not heard the hymn. One of the last survivors to leave the ship was Harold Bride, a wireless operator, who washed off the bow on an upturned collapsible lifeboat. As he floated away from the ship he heard the band playing a piece he called ‘Autumn’.

Even Autumn has been debated, early press reports claiming that it was a hymn (possibly influenced by the fact that Nearer, My God, To Thee was a hymn). That was, until someone pointed out that Autumn, an American hymn tune, would not have been familiar to any of the European musicians, nor to Harold Bride.

A passenger who was on board to the last was Colonel Archibald Gracey. He said emphatically, “If, as has been reported, Nearer, My God, To Thee was one of the selections, I assuredly should have noticed it and regarded it as a tactless warning of immediate death to us and one likely to create a panic that our special efforts were directed towards avoiding….”

Historian Walter Lord proposed that the last piece was in fact Songe d’automne (Dream of Autumn), a selection in the White Star Line songbook for which the band had music sheets. He pointed out that both British and American survivors had said they heard Nearer, My God, To Thee, but how could this be possible, when the hymn was set to different tunes on both sides of the ocean (Horbury or Propior Deo in the UK and Bethany in the US)?

Filmmakers have been divided on the tune of Nearere, My God, To Thee, as is evidenced by these prominent movies.

A Night to Remember directed by Roy Ward Baker
Based on Walter Lord’s book of the same title, Baker chose to depict the final number as Nearer, My God, To Thee set to Horbury.

Titanic (1997) directed by James Cameron
Cameron’s Titanic is the most-watched movie on the subject. He chose to set Nearer, My God, To Thee to Bethany.

It has been a century since Titanic sank and experts on this subject are still divided as to which piece truly was played as the final number. This post is part one of seven that will be dedicated to discussing the possibilities.

Sunday Night Part II How accurate are passenger accounts?

2012-01-25T11:55:00.000-04:00

In the days following the disaster few people had a clear idea about what had happened the night Titanic sank. It is quite easy to become confused with passenger accounts and press reports. In many cases the witnesses and reporters had incomplete or inaccurate information. In the aftermath of the disaster all involved were grasping to figure out what had happened. When reading accounts it is important to see the given information within a larger context.

Some accounts of the “last piece played” may have referred to the regular Sunday evening concerts, and did not necessarily tell the tale of music played on the Titanic after she had struck ice.

Kate Buss, a Second Class passenger, wrote that a fellow passenger, Robert Norman, had requested the last number: “Mr. N.* told me on Sunday night that the last thing they played was at his request, and I hear that they were playing Nearer My God to Thee.”

The only trouble with this information was that Buss survived and Norman did not. As Buss sat safely in her lifeboat, the band played the last piece, and soon after, Norman went down with the ship and perished. The last time they had spoken was when she was still on board. If Norman had requested Nearer, My God, To Thee, when would he have had the chance to tell her about it?

It is almost certain that Buss is herself mistaken in this case. It is more likely that Norman had requested the last number of the Five-piece band in the Second Class entranceway in the evening concert (a favorite of his from the White Star Line songbook), and that he had told her about that at some point before she was lowered in the lifeboat. Later Buss heard that the “last number” (the only one talked about) was the hymn, and she mistakenly put the two together.

This is just one example of a passenger account that requires the reader to think about the information. The more Titanic accounts that are read, the more the cross-references help explain the whole story.

*The identity of Mr. N.
Several passengers had remembered him as the one who had played for the Sunday night hymn sing in Second Class. Buss: “Another acquaintance, a young fellow, so nice, Mr. N. (Edinburgh) played the piano.” Lawrence Beesley explained that the hymn sing had happened, “with the assistance at the piano of a gentleman who sat at the purser’s table opposite me (a young Scotch engineer).…”

It is known that this gentleman was Robert Douglas Norman, Second Class passenger, an engineer from Scotland. His body was recovered, #287, and rests in Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It sounds like he spent the early evening playing for the hymn sing and then later in the evening heard the Five-piece band play, and requested the last number.

Sunday Night Part I How do we interpret accounts?

2012-01-23T08:05:00.001-04:00

When reading interpretations of Titanic survivors’ accounts one needs to sift through the information carefully. Just because a survivor mentioned a performance by the band on Sunday night, it does not necessarily mean it was at the time Titanic was sinking. Here is one example:

Violet Jessop, who was a First Class stewardess on Titanic, wrote that she had heard the band in passing on Sunday evening. “It was all so happy and peaceful. If the sun did fail to shine so brightly on the fourth day out, and if a little cold nip crept into the air as evening set in, it only served to emphasize the warmth and luxuriousness within. On that Sunday evening, the music was at its gayest, led by young Jock....”

Some have wondered how the music could have been at its ‘gayest’ on Sunday evening, assuming Jessop may have been writing about the band’s performance as the ship was sinking. However, in her memoirs she clearly organized her chapters* into two sections: Titanic, Chapter 20 - her memories of the voyage prior to the collision and the collision itself, and Chapter 21, Into the Lifeboat - her experiences as the ship was sinking.

The quotation of the lively performance was written in Chapter 20 along with her other recollections of the waning daylight hours of April 14 on board the Titanic. So to me it seems fairly clear that Jessop had heard the band perform just before dusk, perhaps between 5:00-7:00 p.m. Dusk in mid April at that latitude would have crept in at around seven o’clock, with darkness falling by about 7:15 p.m.

When Jessop’s words are considered in the context of an early evening performance there is no reason to question the liveliness of the music or mood. In fact, the scene builds up a sense of complete wellbeing, and serves as a contrast to what was about to happen. The reader feels the dramatic irony of the upbeat atmosphere. If every soul felt most fortunate to be on board the steamer built to be the epitome of human accomplishment, in just a few short hours they were about to learn the tragedy of human error and the unforgiving supremacy of nature. Such is the feeling Jessop’s words instill as she paints the picture of the band’s animated evening concert.

So, back to the matter of interpreting accounts. Keep in mind that the band (meaning both the quintet and trio) did perform on Sunday evening before the collision. It is important to consider any mention of the band in context of the timeframe of a survivor’s complete story.

*Jessop’s memoirs were published in Titanic Survivor, edited by John Maxtone-Graham; published by Sheridan House, 1997.

Titanic sailed in the golden age of trained musicians

2012-01-22T14:29:00.000-04:00

The Music Scene Then and Now.

In 1912 the music scene was on the eve of many transformations. At that time popular music, born of divergent cultural influences in the USA, was beginning to have an infectious appeal to audiences. Ragtime was making it big abroad, as was jazz. And yet, the music of the Romantic era was still the bread and butter of performing musicians. Popular music was still only a sideline diversion. Tchaikovsky was second only to Strauss in the number of selections in the White Star Line Songbook.

In pre-WWI composition the limits of tonality were stretched by impressionist composers, and yet music was still several years away from the widespread use of atonality. When the Titanic sailed an entire room of people in First or Second Class could listen to music by trained composers or popular music by self-trained musicians and recognize it all. “Classical” and popular music shared the same stage. Those paths were soon to part, and throughout the twentieth century university-trained composers would become more and more alienated from the listening, paying public. Their music was often very good, but it didn’t balance accessibility with art.

So, to a trained musician, the Titanic sailed in the golden age of trained musicians. A classically trained performer could make a decent living playing on a ship to an appreciative audience. Conservatories were turning their graduates out into a world where they could find real work performing in hotels, tearooms, in public orchestras and bands, not to mention major symphony orchestras. And real composers were getting “prime time air play,” so to speak.

Major composers are highly regarded for a reason: their music reaches a rare level of artistry. Minor composers are obscure for a reason: their music fills a need for a while, and is then easily replaced by a fresh crop of minor composers. Somehow the major composers produce irreplaceable music that remains fresh. Or, at least that is how it should be. In the twentieth century the composers who were supposed to be the major figures fell into obscurity because their music no longer appealed to the public. New classical music suddenly had a very small sphere of influence, and was limited mostly to the academic circles that surrounded schools of music in universities.

Do you recognize this music?
Arnold Schoenberg Piano Concerto Op. 42
Composed in the Twentieth Century atonal style.

Do you recognize this music?
Sergei Rachmaninoff c minor Piano Concerto
Composed in the Twentieth Century, but influenced by music of the Romantic period.

A WSL songbook in use on the Olympic in 1934 reflects a public abandonment of music by current trained composers, with only two selections I can see, Valse Triste by Sibelius and a Prelude by Rachmaninoff, both who composed after the style of Romantic masters.

It is an indulgence to think back to the era in which the Titanic sailed and wonder whether “trained composer” music would have kept its market share had universities not so uniformly pushed one style of composition over others. The academic world took all the young talent and steered it in one direction. And perhaps in doing so, lost its larger public audience.

The art of arranging Titanic's music

2012-01-21T17:12:00.000-04:00

It's the weekend, so I'm going to indulge in two last posts on Titanic's songbook numbers before I begin my series on the final performance, which will begin on Monday.

There is an art to arranging music, and it is an interesting topic to touch on considering Titanic's repertoire was entirely arranged. Basically, music intended for one instrument or ensemble is re-written to suit the characteristics of a different instrument or ensemble. The pianist and string players on board likely did not grow up practicing much of this music.

A good portion of the songbook had originally been written for voice (the opera, sacred and popular songs). The vocal line would have been written into the first violin or piano part. It is possible that Titanic's pianist had learned to play Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9, No.2, as it is a staple in the piano repertoire, but it is unlikely any of the string players would have played this as students. And even the piano part would have been adjusted, as the music was remixed for the five instruments.

For some numbers an arranger had taken works written for larger ensembles, like Grieg's Anitra's Dance for theatre orchestra, and boiled down the elements for a piano quintet and string trio. Although the music would have been familiar to the performers in the same way it was to the public, by its nature the arranged music would have been new, as it paraphrased the originals.

My interest in Titanic has led me to arrange music from the voyage for piano. When I chose titles to arrange for my books, two levels of TITANIC A Voyage in Piano Music , I was looking for music that would translate to graded piano pieces, that would fall easily under the hands, that reflected the story of the voyage and the three classes on board, and catchy tunes. Several of my choices reflect the era’s popular music. As an arranger, I can tell you that I had to take the raw material and work it up a fair bit. The first task was to shorten the music for particular piano levels.

In The Shadows was identified as a number that was played as Titanic was sinking, and I wanted to include it in my book. To be honest, it is a bland little piece. I had to work hard to find the interest in the student part, and finally had to add parts to the teacher’s duet, like an echo, in order to create more interest. Here is my arrangement for elementary piano duet. (Admittedly, the recorded tempo is too slow.)

Songe d'automne is a beautiful waltz in a minor key. However, in the original version, at the second theme the harmonic pace loses steam despite the increase in tempo because it is written over a pedal tone (one repeated note). In my piano arrangement I rewrote that bass line for the left hand to form a kind of counter melody to the right hand, which improves the section. Listen here.

Valse Septembre has a pretty tune and I like it. Again, I played with the rhythms of the left hand part, in the first section leaving a perky little rest on beat three (rather than settling for the usual boom-chuck-chuck that is written in waltzes). In the middle section I changed the texture with legato broken chords. I also enhanced the harmonic progression to suit my ear. Listen here.

As an arranger I found it a challenge to maintain musical interest while keeping the music within an easy piano level. When I arranged music by Elgar or Berlin, two of the better writers, my job was made much easier by the high quality of the original music.

To hear my original music, I invite you to visit my Notekidds YouTube channel. My videos represent the music I have written for piano students.

The popular side of the WSL songbook.

2012-01-20T22:42:00.000-04:00

What was listed in the White Star Line MUSIC songbook? Part IV

Titanic sailed at a time in music history when there were few clear lines defining musical taste. There was little distinction made between music composed by major composers who were highly recognized in the public ear, and those who were well-liked from a minor output of popular tunes.

In university studies the entire British “waltz king” scene has usually been skipped over entirely, the focus on France, where the Impressionists composed undoubtedly the best music of the day. So for me, becoming interested in Titanic's music has opened up a whole new oyster shell of treasure. The music is light, and has a bright, airy resemblance to Mozart's divertimenti. (Well, few can equal Mozart's sense of joie de vivre.)

The WSL songbook reflected the mixed musical taste of Titanic’s clientele and was updated frequently as arrangements of new music came available. It is unclear when the term "popular" entered the vernacular as a term to describe music, but it did not appear in the WSL songbook. Indeed, numbers that would be identified as popular today were sprinkled throughout.

Here’s what is surprising about the songbook: the category “Entr’actes, Intermezzos, etc” was so broad that it encompassed such divergent pieces as Ave Maria by Gounod, The Teddy Bear’s Picnic by Bratton, Minuet by Boccherini, Glow Worm by Lincke, Song Without Words by Tchaikovsky, and Apple Blossoms by Roberts. A real tossed salad of music, because to Titanic's audience, all music was popular. Music was music.

In the category "Marches, Cake Walks, etc." the march Mosquitos Parade by Whitney (likely performed on Sunday afternoons on park bandstands) was listed along with Pomp and Circumstance marches No. 1, 2, and 4 by Elgar (part of the symphonic concert repertoire).

Here are favorites that have appeared in Titanic music recordings. The music is quite charming:

21. The Chocolate Soldier, O. Strauss, 1954
130. Wedding Dance, Lincke, 1946
136. Sphinx, Popy, ? date
188. Love's Dream after the Ball, Czibulka, 1894

To demonstrate that the line between classical and popular was blurry if it existed at all, here is a selection from the WSL songbook by a major composer, paraphrased by a popular songwriter who was to become a music icon of the Twentieth Century. Irving Berlin borrowed Mendelssohn's Spring Song tune because he knew it would be recognized - an early version of a cover. It became one of his first big hits.

196. Spring Song, Mendelssohn,
__ That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune, Berlin, (1910 recording by Pat Phillips; the borrowed phrase is at 0:40 in the YouTube video)
__ That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune, Berlin, (A track on Whitcomb's Titanic album. It was not listed in the songbook, but represents music passengers would have known)

Here are links to sites where you can download Titanic recordings.

I Salonisti Two albums: The Titanic Band Nice and Cheery and White Star Line Songbook

Ian Whitcomb Titanic: Music As Heard On the Fateful Voyage

Titanic's WSL songbook - Intermezzos and Popular tunes

2012-01-18T07:25:00.000-04:00

What was listed in the White Star Line MUSIC songbook? Part III

The word "number" as it refers to a music selection comes from books like the WSL songbook, where an ensemble's extensive repertoire was listed by number. The audience could participate in an informal performance, making requests by calling out the numbers of the music they wished to hear.

There is an older tradition in music for hymns to be numbered in hymnals and for composers to number pieces in a collection. Moreover, a composer's individual output is usually catalogued by Opus numbers. Opera (plural for opus) refers to a staged work with many numbers. But to use the word 'number' in the context, "The band played fourteen numbers last night," comes from the performance culture of request songbooks like the one used on Titanic.

When one considers how many serious classical pieces were listed in the songbook, it becomes even clearer why the band played from sheet music. It looks as though 241 out of the 341 listed numbers were classical (or written by classically trained composers), leaving about 100 selections of the "popular" variety. It is interesting that today's Titanic recordings tip the balance in favour of the popular-style music, when on the voyage in 1912, it is likely that more than half of the performances focused on the classical arrangements.

The first four pages of the WSL songbook cover opera, suites, waltzes and sacred music (stage, dance and concert works both secular and sacred) and were discussed in my last post. The remaining five pages cover two broader categories, with concert pieces that stood alone or filled in time between other larger works (Entr'acts and Intermezzos), and numbers from the Tin Pan Alley music industry, arranged from sheet music that had become popular. Here is a sampling from the WSL songbook (again, the date of death beside each composer lets us know which ones were alive in 1912):

Entr’actes, Intermezzos, etc.
175. Ave Maria, Gunod, 1893
177. Anvil Chorus from Il-Trovatore, Verdi, 1901
182. Fifth Hungarian Dance, Brahms, 1897
192. Prize Song from Die Meistersinger, Wagner, 1883
193. Serenade, Schubert, 1828
196. Spring Song, Mendelssohn, 1847
198. Traumerei, Schumann, 1856
200. Anitra's Dance, Grieg, 1907
202. Barcarolle, Tales of Hoffmann, Offenbach, 1880
214. Largo, Handel, 1759
215. Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2, Chopin, 1849
219. Rakoczy, Hungarian March, Liszt, 1886
237. Humoreske, Dvorak, 1904
239. Agnus Dei, Bizet, 1875
241. None but the weary heart, Tchaikovsky, 1893
259. Melody in F, Rubenstein, 1894
260. Salut d'Amour, Elgar, 1934
262. Menuet, Boccherini, 1805

Marches, Cake Walks, etc.
280. Alexander's Ragtime Band, Berlin, 1989
300. The Ladybird's Review, Moret, 1943
310. Le prophète, Meyerbeer, 1864
311. Tannhauser, Wagner, 1883
312. Pomp and Circumstance, Elgar, 1934
339. Stars and Stripes Forever, Sousa, 1932

To be continued...

Composers in Titanic's WSL songbook - Who made the list?

2012-01-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

What was listed in the White Star Line MUSIC songbook? Part II

The composers of the 1910s era we continue to cherish to this day, among them Debussy, Fauré, Ravel, Delius, Mahler and Elgar were not well represented in Titanic’s request list - only Elgar’s music appeared. It seems as though the society of the golden age preferred their waltz kings and old “classic” standards to the hazy harmonies of French Impressionism.

It is also possible that music agents C. W. & F. N. Black were limited by the choice of sheet music available to them in arrangements for Titanic’s ensembles. In a way, this shows which composers were in demand enough (or had been around long enough) for their music to have been arranged. Even great composers have had a difficult time breaking into the larger market while alive.

As an appendix to my last post, here is a sampling of well-known composers represented in the WSL songbook, as well as one musical example (some composers were listed more than once). Composers who have fallen into obscurity have not been listed here. The composers’ years of death give an idea as to who was still alive in 1912.

Overtures 1-15 (WSL songbook numbers)
1. Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini, 1868

Selections 16-80
17. The Night Birds, Johann Strauss, 1899
27. Samson and Delilah,, Saint-Saëns, 1921
29. Aida, Verdi, 1901
35. Orphee Aux Enfers, Offenbach, 1880
36. Butterfly, Puccini, 1924
58. Carmen, Bizet, 1875
64. The Mikado, Sullivan, 1900
73. Tannhauser, Wagner, 1883

Suites, Fantasias, etc. 81-99
81. Casse-Noisette, Tchaikovsky, 1893
82. Peer Gynt, Grieg, 1907
85. Faust, Gunod, 1893

Waltzes 100-148 (plus additional unlisted waltzes)
115. Rosenkavalier, R Strauss, 1949
148. The Merry Widow, Lehar, 1948
J Strauss, 1899 (his unlisted waltzes were a category of their own, ex. Blue Danube, Emperor)
Waldteufel, 1915 (unlisted, ex. Ice Skater’s)

Sacred Music 149-156
149. Selections from Elijah, Mendelssohn, 1847
150. Selections from The Cross of Calvary, Gounod, 1893
152. Selections from The Messiah, Handel, 1759

To be continued....

What was listed in the White Star Line MUSIC songbook? Part I

2012-01-12T08:11:00.000-04:00

If you have ever seen a karaoke list you will be able to picture the music list in the White Star Line songbook. It was a stapled booklet, small enough to carry in your purse or pocket, with a faun-colored card stock cover and off-white inside pages. There were 9 pages of numbers listed.*

The musical selections were set by C. W. & F. N. Black, the agents who hired Titanic’s band. The agency created the list of requests, acquired the arrangements of music and likely also had the songbook printed. They chose music that was recognized and loved by the general public, again, like a karaoke list would be created today. One can see by the titles and composers represented that the public was literate in classics as well as the dance tunes that were popular in 1912.

It is interesting to note which composers made the list, and which did not (both Mozart and Beethoven were absent). The request list was divided into categories, beginning with opera. Overtures covered numbers 1 to 15, with Rossini (six numbers), Herold, Auber, Suppè (three numbers), Thomas, Flotou (?), Paer and Balfe. Today’s public audience would recognize only Rossini, but at the time these numbers were chosen because they were universal favorites.

The next category, Selections, 16-80, consisted of operatic numbers and arias. Of the famous composers who made the list, J. Strauss, Offenbach, Verdi, Wagner, Bizet and Sullivan, only two, Saint-Saëns and Puccini, were actually alive in 1912, with most of their productive years behind them. The rest of the listed composers (who may have been alive at the time) have faded to no more than printed names in books like these. Their music is no longer widely known. This follows throughout the rest of the songbook.

In all there were seven categories, some with appended sub-categories:
1. Overtures (1 - 15)

2. Selections (16 - 80)

3. Suites, Fantasias, etc. (81 - 99)
National Anthems, Hymns &c., of all Nations (unlisted numbers)

4. Waltzes (100 - 148)
Gung'l Waltzes (unlisted numbers)
Strauss Waltzes ( " " )
Waldteufel Waltzes ( " " )

5. Sacred Music (149 - 156)

6. Entr’actes, Intermezzos, etc. (157 - 279)

7. Marches, Cake Walks, etc.
Waldteufel Polkas (unlisted numbers)

It would have been possible for the band to have accepted a request like "262" Boccherini’s Menuet, followed by "280" Irving Berlin’s Alexander’s Ragtime Band, then a selection like (for example) Comfort ye my people from "152" Handel’s Messiah, followed by "334" Sousa’s Hail, Spirit of Liberty, and so on. Musically speaking, the list shows that the public was knowledgeable across the genres and had eclectic musical taste.

*The replica songbook I obtained from the Titanic Historical Society in Indian Orchard, MA, is believed to have been the one in use at the time Titanic sailed.

Was Titanic's last performance impacted by separate libraries?

2012-01-10T10:42:00.000-04:00

Did Titanic’s two bands have separate libraries? Part III

The Final Performance
With separate libraries, how could Titanic’s two bands have performed together on the night of the sinking? The story has always been told that the two bands came together to perform for passengers on the night the Titanic sank. From a musical point of view there is no reason to question this.

Both bands would have been familiar with music from the same request list. In their final performance it is unknown whether they each played from their own part (amalgamating the trio and quintet arrangements for each number), or whether the trio looked on with the quintet’s arrangements (the more likely scenario).

In orchestras it is standard for two instruments to read from the same desk (i.e. music stand). It is possible that Titanic’s musicians shared parts on the night of the sinking, violin reading with violin, cello reading with cello. It was their professional talent to perform the music at sight.

If it ever was proven beyond a doubt that both ensembles had different playlists, it still would not preclude the possibility that the eight musicians performed together on the night the Titanic sank. As they played side by side on that night, the musicians with like instruments most certainly could have shared their sheet music. The fact that the two ensembles had separate libraries would not have stopped them from playing together.

Did Titanic's bands play two different repertoires?

2012-01-09T08:31:00.002-04:00

Did Titanic’s two bands have separate libraries? Part II

The matter of “separate libraries” has puzzled historians for quite a while, because it was wondered whether this meant they also played different pieces. The question was asked that if the bands both played different titles then how would all eight have been able to perform together as the ship was sinking? My theory is that both bands would have played from the same list of titles, even with separate libraries.

The Matter of Requests
First and Second Class passengers received the “White Star Line MUSIC” songbook upon embarkation, which listed the music that could be played upon request. In First Class the quintet played in two venues: at the top of the famous grand staircase and in the Reception Room outside the First Class Dining Saloon. The trio played in the First Class reception room adjoining the à la carte Restaurant and Café Parisien.

It would have been terribly confusing to the First Class passengers if they were able to make requests of the quintet but not the trio. Passengers waiting for a table at the restaurant would have enjoyed the same privilege of asking for favorites of the trio as in the other parts of the ship when they listened to the quintet. Passengers would have used the same booklet for the entire voyage.

Back to the question of separate libraries: beyond the musical considerations mentioned in the last post, or the matter of requests, imagine how inconvenient it would have been to share the same “library”. As the ensembles often performed simultaneously, both needed immediate access to the music on the request list.

So, yes, the quintet and trio had separate libraries, but no, would not have had different playlists. Both would have been required and able to play music from the “White Star Line MUSIC” songbook upon request.

CBC Mainstreet Interview 05 January 2012

2012-01-08T16:41:00.021-04:00

As this is not a regular day for me to post I thought I'd post about the exciting week we've had. While having a new blog is pretty exciting in itself, beyond that I've had an article published in an international piano magazine and a radio interview that went national - all in one week! And to top it off, I'm January's feature composer in a 2012 calendar of Canadian composers.

CBC Mainstreet called for an interview on Thursday, January 5. It aired on CBC Radio One at 5:15 p.m. during supper rush hour. Many of the questions focused on the last piece the band played on the night Titanic sank. Listen to the full interview here:

And my Nearer My God To Thee elementary piano duet:

Clavier Companion published my article titled The story of music on board the RMS TITANIC. Several wonderful books have been published recently which discuss the identity of Titanic's musicians. In my article you can look inside the ship and read the story of music from the passengers' point of view, learn where and when the bands performed, and experience first-hand accounts of the band's final performance. Click here to read the full article.

In the Clavier Companion article you can see images of:

Olympic's pianos, which give an idea of what pianos looked like on the Titanic:

First Class Reception Room piano.

First Class Entrance Hall piano (top of the Grand Staircase)

Second Class Entrance, C Deck piano

First Class Dining Saloon piano

Restaurant Reception Room, B Deck, where the trio played.

Did Titanic's bands share sheet music?

2012-01-06T10:32:00.003-04:00

Q: Did Titanic's 5-Piece band and Trio have separate libraries of music? And what does this mean exactly?

There has always been confusion as to what "separate libraries" could mean. Did the bands play from two libraries with different lists of music (different titles)? And if so, how could they have performed together on the night of the sinking? This will be answered in three parts.

A: Yes, the 5-Piece band and the Trio would have needed separate libraries of music.

This discussion begins with an understanding of music arrangements. The quintet consisted of a piano and four stringed instruments. Everywhere the quintet performed they had access to a piano, so their printed arrangements were unquestionably for this kind of instrumentation.

There was no piano installed in the trio’s performance venue, the reception room outside the a la carte Restaurant and Café Parisien. In the absence of a piano this small ensemble would have been a string trio. The standard trio without piano has two violins and a cello.

Structurally, the person who arranged the music for each ensemble would have adjusted the musical elements specifically for each grouping of instruments. A complete music score for the quintet would have had six staves (counting two for the piano), and would have looked something like this on paper:

Violin (treble staff)
Violin or Viola (treble or alto staff, respectively)
Cello (bass staff, occasionally alto or treble in the upper ranges)
Double bass (bass staff, sounds an octave lower than written)
Piano (grand staff, treble and bass clefs)

For the string trio there would have been three staves, and music would have looked like this in complete score:

Violin (treble staff)
Violin (treble staff)
Cello (bass staff, occasionally alto or treble in the upper ranges)

It is unlikely the musicians on the Titanic had complete scores as outlined above, so I use them simply to illustrate the construction of the music. The libraries on the Titanic likely contained only the parts, one instrument per sheet.

Technically, the trio could have tried to play the sheets intended for the quintet, but the sound would have been missing entire lines of music, entire parts of harmony or bass. For example, if an arrangement ever contained a section where the piano played alone, the trio would have had an extended silence in the music. Likewise, the all-important bass line, which is customarily played by the double bass, would have been missing had the trio played the quintet's music.

So, yes, both ensembles would have had access to their own stash of sheet music, separate libraries if you will. The number and nature of instruments present made it necessary to provide each band with customized non-exchangeable print arrangements.

Did Titanic's band play music by memory?

2012-01-04T08:50:00.016-04:00

Q: Did the musicians on board Titanic memorize and play by heart a large body of musical numbers listed in the White Star Line music repertoire book?

A: No. Traditionally, the only professional musicians who memorize are concert soloists. Ensemble musicians play with written parts.

When music is arranged for five musicians the parts are at times melodious, at times form a counterpoint, but most of the time the parts play the harmony, the accompaniment, fill a perfunctory role. It is highly unusual, nearly unheard of, for classically trained musicians to put time into memorizing the boring parts.

Some ensemble musicians can play from memory and improvise by ear. But trust me, it is not a universal talent for classical musicians to be able to do so. Most play with print music. It takes a lot of practice and trust within an ensemble to reach the point of playing together by memory or by ear.

Recently I have attended several concerts in which small ensembles performed the entire night memorized. These ensembles had written and arranged their own music and spent their professional careers together touring over several continents. They had had time to gel as a musical unit. Their current "memorized" repertoire made up about two hours worth of music.

In the situation of the Titanic there was little time to memorize. Titanic’s band members came together within days of departure and had very little time for rehearsal during the trip itself. Whoever it was who claimed Titanic’s band played from memory was suggesting they played about six hours a day, for five straight days, from memory. Individuals may be capable of such a thing. But it would be nearly impossible for a brand new ensemble to pull it off, especially since three of Titanic’s band members were first timers on the open sea.

The talent of a palm court musician was being able to read at sight, able to give a convincing performance with very little rehearsal. Their performances depended on arranged print music.

Did Titanic have 'palm court' performances?

2012-01-02T14:38:00.027-04:00

In my last post I described the advent of palm court performances. A small ensemble performed behind potted palm plants to provide background music in a social or restaurant setting.

When designer Thomas Andrews planned the performance venues on Titanic he envisioned a hybrid kind of concert, a cross between 'palm court' where the music would remain in the background, and 'formal recital' where the band would play to an attentive audience.

Naturally, some aspects of palm court culture carried into Titanic's design. The five-piece band's main First Class venue was the Reception Room outside the Dining Saloon. The room's overall atmosphere resembled a palm court setting, as the passengers sat in social groupings around small tables. Potted palm plants towered next to the room's pillars. Colonel Archibald Gracie even called it the Palm Room, saying he adjourned there "...with many others, for the usual coffee at individual tables where we listened to the always delightful music of the Titanic's band."

Photographs of Titanic's sister ship, Olympic, show that the pianos held commanding positions in each room. There is no evidence that palm leaves hid the musicians. So, even though the band played to a socializing audience, the fact that the musicians were in full view turned each performance into a quasi-concert.

Passengers described an attentive audience. But in true palm court style, it was perfectly acceptable to carry on quiet conversation or move about the room during a performance. First Class passenger Helen Churchill Candee also described the scene: "...after dinner there was coffee served to all at little tables around the great general lounging place, for here the orchestra played.

"Some said it was poor on its Wagner work, others said the violin was weak. But that was for conversation's sake, for nothing on board was more popular than the orchestra. You could see that by the way everyone refused to leave it. And everyone asked of it some favorite hit."

What is a 'palm court' musician?

2011-12-29T14:31:00.007-04:00

The Titanic sailed in the Edwardian era, before World War I, when British high society made its distinctive mark on culture. It was a golden age when people aspired to put their best foot forward, sit tall, dress appropriately for every occasion and perfect their best manners over tea.

The name 'palm court' came from the unique setting in which musicians played. They were to be heard but not seen. A screen of potted plants (of the palm variety) hid them from view. Rather than a concert for an attentive audience, the purpose of the music was to soften the atmosphere and provide a backdrop for polite conversation. It was a clever arrangement because the sounds carried beautifully beyond the foliage.

Classically trained musicians found employment as live performers in all the usual places: orchestras, dance bands, pit orchestras for operas, operettas, ballets, and of course, a chosen few as concert soloists. Despite the recent advent of recorded music, there arose a demand for 'palm court' musicians.

Hotels and tea rooms at the time liked to indulge their patrons with the luxury of live music. Small ensembles were hired to perform on a daily schedule. The instrumentation usually consisted of strings, like a string trio or quartet, but could also include piano. The repertoire combined a variety of tastes: arrangements of classical music, numbers from operas and operettas, waltzes, as well as popular tunes of the day.

The listeners were usually of the finer cut of sleeve, who enjoyed being pampered and served, and liked indulging in illusions of grandeur. High tea at the Ritz Hotel in London was complete only with the strains of string music in the background.

Several of Titanic's bandsmen had experience playing in palm court settings in European and Caribbean hotels and tea rooms, as well as on other ships, prior to embarking on the Titanic.

Enthusiast turns commentator

2011-12-27T09:14:00.002-04:00

Hello, fellow Titanic enthusiast! I share your keen interest in the grand liner. It is Titanic's music that interests me most. I've been researching Titanic music for several years now. My research began online and extended into a growing pile of books dedicated to the subject. At first I absorbed everything I read at face value and believed it all. The musicians performed their repertoire memorized, the musicians played all over the ship willy-nilly, the last piece performed on the night of the sinking was....

Then I noticed that Titanic's historians knew a lot about the Titanic but less about how music and musicians work in general. I noticed online discussions puzzling and questioning details that had simple answers to a trained musician. If you, too, have read some of these comments or posts online and wondered at their accuracy, I'm offering my perspective as a career musician to help you come to your own conclusions as you weigh the evidence.

To future Titanic authors and movie makers: I'm hoping this material will help you construct a more accurate telling of the story of music on board Titanic. I welcome your comments, questions and criticisms in the spirit of discussing a subject that interests us all.