|
 In
honor of the 89th anniversary of the Titanic (as well
as our recent reissue of the biggest
records of 1912): "Nearer My God to Thee,"
the hymn many believe to be the final song played on
board the ocean liner. As it became apparent that the
boat would sink, the band dragged its instruments onto
one of the decks and performed as lifeboats were filled
and dropped onto the water. Attempting to keep the passengers
calm in the midst of disaster, the band played a variety
of songs in the waning hours of the voyage.
To this day, people debate the identity of the final
song played on board the Titanic. Rumors of the identity
of the final song started almost immediately after the
shipwreck, and, because the entire band died in the
wreck, only first-hand accounts remain to solve the
mystery. Unfortunately, these accounts are conflicting.
Many today argue that the final song was "Nearer,
My God, to Thee."
| |
The
sheet music for "The Band Played 'Nearer
My God to Thee' As the Ship Went Down," a
song that helped establish the legend of the final
song played on board the Titanic. |
Others argue that the final song was "Songe D'Autumme."
Still others suggest that the band played rags and other
light-hearted music ("Alexander's Ragtime Band"
was a favorite during the voyage). Though tradition
holds that "Nearer, My God, to Thee" is the
final song—a myth sustained through popular movies
about the shipwreck—current scholarship sides with
"Songe D'Automne." One argument against "Nearer,
My God," in fact, is that it is too appropriate
of a final song. Colonel Gracie, a passenger on the
ship, commented that "If 'Nearer, My God, to Thee'
was one of the selections, I assuredly would have noticed
it and regarded it as a tactless warning of immediate
death, and more likely to create a panic that our special
efforts were directed towards avoiding...." (quoted
in Walter Lord's The Night Lives On).
Committed to providing the best in all accoutrements,
H.M.S. Titanic sported a top-notch lineup of musicians.
The orchestra consisted of Wallace Hartley (bandmaster
and violin), Jock Hume (second violin), Theodore Brailey
(piano), Roger Bricoux (cello), Fred Clark (bass viol),
J. W. Woodward (cello), George Krins (viola), and P.C.
Taylor (piano). All eight died aboard the Titanic on
April 15, 1912.
"Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a ubiquitous
title on disc and cylinder records from the early recording
industry. Pious families with talking machines at the
turn of the century all had a copy (or more) of this
standard hymn, be it a vocal, full band, brass quartet,
or instrumental solo version. Since the early-century
versions most people today are familiar with tend to
be by orchestras, we've decided to give you a vocal
quartet rendition. Here is the Edison Male Quartet (tenors
Harry Macdonough and John Bieling, baritone S. H. Dudley,
and bass William F. Hooley) doing a circa-1904 performance
on a Gold Moulded cylinder of an Edison catalogue number
that dates originally to late 1899.
|
Shopping Cart | Checkout 
