The musicians of theTitanic were anoctetorchestra who performedchamber music in the first class section aboard the ship.
The group is notable for playing music, intending to calm the passengers for as long as they possibly could, during theship's sinking in the early hours of April 15, 1912 in which all of the members perished.
Eight musicians – members of a three-piece ensemble and a five-piece ensemble – were booked through C. W. & F. N. Black, inLiverpool.[1] They boarded atSouthampton and traveled as second-class passengers. They were not on theWhite Star Line's payroll but were contracted to White Star by the Liverpool firm of C. W. & F. N. Black, which placed musicians on almost all British liners. Until the night of the sinking, the players performed as two separate groups: aquintet led by violinist and official bandleaderWallace Hartley, that played at teatime, after-dinner concerts, and Sunday services, among other occasions; and the violin, cello, and piano trio of Georges Krins,Roger Bricoux [fr], and Theodore Brailey, that played at the À La Carte Restaurant and the Café Parisien.[2]
After theTitanic hit an iceberg and began to sink, Hartley and his fellow band members started playing music to help keep the passengers calm as the crew loaded thelifeboats. Many of the survivors said that Hartley and the band continued to play until the very end. Reportedly, their final tune was the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee",[3] although other sources suggest it was"Songe d'Automne" (also known simply as "Autumn"). One second-class passenger said:
Many brave things were done that night, but none were more brave than those done by men playing minute after minute as the ship settled quietly lower and lower in the sea. The music they played served alike as their own immortal requiem and their right to be recalled on the scrolls of undying fame.[4]
All eight musicians died in the sinking.[5]
| Name | Age | Hometown | Country | Position | Body | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Brailey | 24 | London | England | Pianist | – | [6] |
| Roger Bricoux | 20 | Cosne-sur-Loire | France | Cellist | – | [7] |
| John Clarke | 28 | Liverpool, Merseyside | England | Bassist | 202MB | [8] |
| Wallace Hartley | 33 | Colne, Lancashire | England | Bandmaster, violinist | 224MB | [9] |
| Jock Hume | 21 | Dumfries | Scotland | Violinist | 193MB | [10] |
| Georges Krins | 23 | Spa | Belgium | Violinist | – | [11] |
| Percy Taylor | 40 | London | England | Cellist | – | [12] |
| John Wesley Woodward | 32 | West Bromwich | England | Cellist | – | [13] |
William Theodore Ronald Brailey | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1887-10-25)25 October 1887 |
| Died | 15 April 1912(1912-04-15) (aged 24) |
| Occupation | Pianist |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1902–1907 |
| Unit | Lancashire Fusiliers |
William Theodore Ronald Brailey (25 October 1887 – 15 April 1912) was an Englishpianist.[5][6] Born on 25 October 1887 inWalthamstow inGreater London (then part ofEssex),[14] he was the son of William "Ronald" Brailey, a well-known figure ofSpiritualism.[15] Brailey studied piano at school, and one of his first jobs was performing in a local hotel.[16]
In 1902, he joined theRoyal Lancashire Fusiliers regiment signing for 12 years service as a musician.[17] He was stationed inBarbados but left the army prematurely in 1907.[18] He returned to England and lived at 71 Lancaster Road,Ladbroke Grove, London.[6] In 1911, he enlisted aboard ship, playing first on theSaxonia, prior to joining theCunard steamerRMS Carpathia in 1912, where he met the Frenchcellist Roger Bricoux. Both men then joined the White Star Line and were recruited by Liverpool music agency C. W. & F. N. Black to serve on theTitanic.[6][19] Brailey boarded theTitanic on Wednesday 10 April 1912 in Southampton. His ticket number was 250654, the ticket for all the members of Hartley's orchestra. His cabin was in the second class quarters.[4][6][20]
Brailey was 24 years old when he died; his body was never recovered.[6][21]
Roger Marie Bricoux | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1891-06-01)1 June 1891 |
| Died | 15 April 1912(1912-04-15) (aged 20) |
| Occupation | Cellist |
Roger Marie Bricoux (1 June 1891 – 15 April 1912) was a French cellist.[22] Born on 1 June 1891 in Rue de Donzy,Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, France,[23]Bricoux [fr] was the son of a musician. The family moved to Monaco when he was a young boy,[24] and he was educated in variousCatholic institutions in Italy.[25] It was during his studies that he joined his firstorchestra and won first prize at the Conservatory of Bologna for musical ability.[26] After studying at the Paris Conservatory, he moved to England in 1910 to join the orchestra in the Grand Central Hotel inLeeds.[27] At the end of 1911, he moved toLille, France, lived at 5 Place du Lion d'Or, and played in various locations throughout the city.[4]
Before joining theTitanic, Bricoux had served with Brailey on the Cunard steamerCarpathia before joining the White Star Line.[4][26][7] He boarded theTitanic on Wednesday 10 April 1912 in Southampton.[26] His ticket number was 250654, the ticket for all the members of Hartley's orchestra. His cabin was second class, and he was the only French musician aboard theTitanic.[28]
Bricoux was 20 years old when he died;[26] his body was never recovered.[4]
In 1913, after his apparent disappearance, he was declared adeserter by theFrench army. It was not until 2000 that he was eventually officially registered as dead in France, mainly due to the efforts of the Association Française du Titanic.[29] On 2 November 2000, the same association unveiled a memorial plaque to Bricoux in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire.[23][29]
Wallace Henry Hartley (2 June 1878 – 15 April 1912), an English violinist, was the bandleader on theTitanic. Hartley's body was recovered by theCSMackay-Bennett,[30] before being returned to England for burial in his home town ofColne, Lancashire.
The violin that he played on the Titanic was recovered. It was a gift from his fiancée, Maria Robinson, whom he was to wed in June, and was returned to her.[31]
John Law Hume | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1890-08-09)9 August 1890 Dumfries, Scotland |
| Died | 15 April 1912(1912-04-15) (aged 21) Atlantic Ocean |
| Burial place | Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Occupation | Violinist |
John Law "Jock"Hume (9 August 1890 – 15 April 1912) was a Scottishviolinist.[32] Hume was born on 9 August 1890 inDumfries, Scotland and lived with his parents at 42 George Street, Dumfries.[32] He had already played on at least five ships before theTitanic, and was recruited to play on its maiden voyage due to his good reputation as a musician.[33]
Hume spent the winter of 1910/1911 in Kingston, Jamaica, where he performed in the Orchestra for the Constant Spring Hotel, a grand resort of the time. Future Titanic cellist John Woodward was also a member of the Constant Spring Orchestra. During his four months in Jamaica, Hume entered a relationship with barmaid Ethel McDonald. Hume left Jamaica in April 1911, and Ethel gave birth to their child, Keith Neville McDonald Hume, in November 1911.[34]
He boarded theTitanic on Wednesday 10 April 1912 in Southampton. His ticket number was 250654, the ticket for all the members of Hartley's orchestra. His cabin was in the second class quarters.
Hume was 21 years old when he died and his fiancée, Mary Costin, was pregnant with his child.[33] His body was recovered by the CSMackay-Bennett,[10] and was passed into the care ofJohn Henry Barnstead who arranged for his burial in grave 193 of the designatedTitanic plot atFairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 8 May 1912.[10][35][36] A memorial was erected for Hume and Thomas Mullin (third class steward) in Dock Park, Dumfries. It reads:
In memory of John Law Hume, a member of the band and Thomas Mullin, steward, natives of these towns who lost their lives in the wreck of the White Star LinerTitanic which sank in mid-Atlantic on the 14th day of April 1912. They died at the post of duty.[35]
Hume and the other members of Hartley's orchestra all belonged to the Amalgamated British Musicians Union and were employed by a Liverpool music agency, C. W. & F. N. Black, which supplied musicians for Cunard and the White Star Line.[10][37][38] On 30 April 1912, Hume's father, Andrew, received the following note from the agency:
Dear Sir:
We shall be obliged if you will remit us the sum of 5s. 4d. [five shillings and sixpence], which is owing to us as per enclosed statement.
We shall also be obliged if you will settle the enclosed uniform account.
Yours faithfully,
The letter caused controversy at the time when it was reprinted in the Amalgamated Musicians Union's monthly newsletter.[37] Andrew Law Hume decided not to settle the bill.[38]
In April 1914 John W. Furness, the violinist of the Canadian linerRMS Empress of Ireland made a pilgrimage withAnglican Church officials to visit the grave of John Law Hume at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery and pay his respects. Furness himself died in a shipwreck only a few weeks later whenEmpress of Ireland sank on 29 May 1914.[39]
Georges Alexandre Krins | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1889-03-18)18 March 1889 Paris, France |
| Died | 15 April 1912(1912-04-15) (aged 23) |
| Occupation | Violinist |
Georges Alexandre Krins (18 March 1889 – 15 April 1912) was a Belgian violinist.[11] Born on 18 March 1889 in Paris, France,[40] his family was from Belgium, and soon after his birth they moved back there to the town ofSpa. He first studied at Academie de Musique de Spa. He then moved to the Conservatoire Royal de Musique inLiège, Belgium, where he studied from 30 October 1902 until 1908, when he won first prize for violin, with the highest distinction.[41][4][11]
As a young man he wanted to join the army; however, his parents persuaded him otherwise.[11] He worked in his father's shop and played in La Grande Symphonie, Spa, and in 1910 he moved to Paris to be first violin atLe Trianon Lyrique.[11] He subsequently moved to London and played for two years at theRitz Hotel until March 1912.[11] He lived at 10 Villa Road,Brixton, London and became bandmaster of the Trio String Orchestra, which played near the Café Français.[11] This led to his being recruited by CW & FN Black, Liverpool to play on theTitanic.[4]
He boarded theTitanic on Wednesday 10 April 1912 in Southampton. His ticket number was 250654, the ticket for all the members of Hartley's orchestra.[11] His cabin was second class, and he was the only Belgian musician aboard theTitanic. After theTitanic began to sink, Krins and his fellow band members assembled in the first class lounge and started playing music to help keep the passengers calm. They later moved to the forward half of the boat deck, where they continued to play as the crew loaded the lifeboats. Krins was 23 years old when he died. His body was never recovered.[4][11]
A memorial concert for the Bandsmen of theTitanic was held at theRoyal Albert Hall on Friday 24 May, 1912, a month after the sinking, to raise funds to support the families of the musicians lost at sea.[42] Musicians from theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra, theQueen's Hall Orchestra, theLondon Symphony Orchestra,[43] theNew Symphony Orchestra, theBeecham Symphony Orchestra, theRoyal Opera Orchestra, and theLondon Opera House Orchestra[44] made up an orchestra of around 500 players.[45]Ada Crossley opened the concert withFelix Mendelssohn'sOh Rest in the Lord fromElijah, with the rest of the programme consisting of solemn orchestral items including works byElgar,Tchaikovsky andWagner, withChopin'sFuneral March andArthur Sullivan's"In Memoriam". Seven conductors led the orchestra, Sir Edward Elgar,Sir Henry Wood,Landon Ronald,Percy Pitt, Thomas Beecham, Fritz Ernaldy andWillem Mengelberg.[46] The audience joined in singing "Nearer, My God, to Thee" as orchestrated by Sir Henry Wood to close the concert. A photograph of the event hangs in the Royal Albert Hall outside theloggia boxes.[47]
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Two documentary films have been made about theTitanic's band.
Books written specifically about theTitanic's musicians include:
1 June 1891
rue de Donzy
On November 2nd 2000, the Association Francaise duTitanic unveiled a memorial plaque in memory of Roger Bricoux in Cosne-sur-Loire, the city where he was born on June 1st 1891. In 1913, Roger had been considered a desertor by the French army, and it was not before 2000, thanks to the AFT's work, that he was officially registered as... dead.
He played on at least five ships before theTitanic and he was put forward to play on the ship because they really wanted to cream of the crop to play for passengers. It was such a famous ship and the largest liner at the time and that's what made John really want to be on its maiden voyage.
in grave 193
Burial: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Friday 3rd May 1912
Sources
