10 Facts About Titanic Musicians You Might Not Know

The tale of the Titanic needs no introduction. We all have seen the famous movie starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo de Caprio, and while much has been said and written about the different people on board, a particular group of people—the Titanic musicians, have not received due appreciation for their courage and heroism.

While everyone panicked to save their lives, these Bravehearts continued to play calming tunes for the guests until the ship sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.

They did not try to run away or panic and went down with the ship. They were not soldiers trained for handling situations like these; however, they made a great sacrifice.

In this article, we will discuss 10 facts about the Titanic Musicians.

1. The Titanic Orchestra had 8 people

The orchestra onboard the RMS Titanic included eight people who performed in two groups for most of the journey.

They were Wallace Hartley, the violinist and bandleader; Cellists John Wesley Woodward, Percy Cornelius Taylor and Roger Marie Bricoux; pianist Theodore Ronald Brailey, Bassist Jon Frederick Preston Clarke; and Violinists John Law Hume and Georges Alexandre Krins.

The Titanic was carrying some of the wealthiest passengers, and so the musicians were to entertain them in the evenings and after dinners. They had to know 352 songs, as the guests could request any song from the list provided to the First Class Passengers.

2. Wallace Hartley led the Titanic Band

Wallace Hartley was a violinist and the music band leader onboard the Titanic. He was a famous musician who had performed on ships like RMS Lusitania and Mauretania. He had been a part of many bands after leaving home in 1903 and was exceptionally talented.

After being assigned to be the Titanic bandmaster, Hartley was hesitant to leave his girlfriend, Maria Robinson. He had proposed to her recently and wanted to marry her. However, he chose to go on the Titanic’s maiden voyage as he thought it would give him the desired exposure and bring in more contracts.

His lifeless body was recovered 14 days after the Titanic sank. Per reports, he was found properly dressed with his violin case strapped to him. His funeral procession included 30,000 to 40,000 people.

3. Boarded the Titanic as Second-Class Passengers

The White Star Line hired him and the other band members through the agency C.W. & F.N., Black, based in Liverpool, which also supplied musicians for other cruise lines, such as Cunard.

Earlier, the musicians were considered a part of the crew, but after hiring through agencies began, they were treated as second-class passengers who boarded the ocean liner at Southampton.

The onboard expenses of the 8 Titanic Musicians were paid by the agency. After the Titanic sank, it was revealed that neither the agency nor the shipping company had insured them. Both parties shifted the blame on the other.

4. Titanic Musicians performed in two groups: a Quintet and a Trio

The band members played in two groups until the night the Titanic sank. Wallace Hartley led the Quinet. They usually played at tea time, after dinner, and on Sundays.

The Cello, Violin and Piano trio included Roger Bricoux, Brailey and Krins. They entertained the guests at the ship’s cafe Parisien and A La Carte Restaurant.

5. The monthly salary of each Titanic musician was 1 shilling

Till 1912, several cruise lines handled their musicians directly, signing them as crew members. Their pay was £6 10s. a month and a monthly allowance of 10s.

However, the musicians suffered after the recruiting agency based in Liverpool offered cheaper contracts to steamship companies. After some time, the agency supplied Musicians to all ships, and the musicians had to comply as they needed employment.

The agency paid them less than their earlier pay. Their pay was cut to just £4, and no monthly allowance was given. Also, if the company had any issues with a musician, the agency removed them without any investigation.

The musicians suffered considerably yet worked for their families, as those were difficult times. The trend continued until the Titanic sank. The 8 musicians onboard the Titanic were placed under the captain’s authority and stayed in cramped spaces near the potato washer on the E-Deck.

Though they were passengers, they received no perks for being the same. When the band members played their last tunes, they behaved as members of the crew and not as passengers who ran to save themselves from the inevitable.

6. Hume played on 5 famous ships before joining the Titanic

Hume, who was born in 1890, was Scottish. Before joining Titanic’s maiden voyage, he had played on five vessels, where he earned the praise and appreciation of renowned guests. This is why he was chosen to be a band member of the ship, which was considered unsinkable.

He stepped on the Titanic on 10 April 1912 in Southampton, United Kingdom, when he was just 21. He was a young man who hoped to get better opportunities after accepting the contract to play on the Titanic.

He died without knowing that his Fiancee was pregnant. His body was found by a cable repair vessel which was registered in London. The town coroner, John H Barnstead, took care of his burial in the Cemetry in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in May 1912. A memorial was also placed there to honour him.

7. Assembled in First Class Lounge to play ragtime

The 8 band members arrived at the first-class lounge and played a musical style, ragtime, to prevent guests from panicking. It greatly affected people, and some did not even rush to board the lifeboats, which were insufficient to accommodate everyone on the Titanic.

While the ship was entering the waters, they changed places, and according to 4th Officer Boxhall, they played Alexander’s Ragtime Band around midnight in the Lounge.

There are differing opinions on whether they continued to play until the very last or put down their instruments moments before the sinking.

Wireless operator Bride and Steward Brown stated that they played until the end, while Colonel Grace mentioned they kept their musical instruments down 30 minutes before the sinking. He also said that he saw the instruments on the deck but not the musicians.

8. The families of the Titanic musicians didn’t get any compensation

After the death of these 8 brave men, their families turned to the White Star line for financial benefits per the Workmen’s Compensation Act.

However, the company said the musicians were second-class passengers and were not covered. They urged the families to approach the agency through which they recruited them, saying they were the employers.

The agency told them to go to the insurance company, which said nothing could be done since the musicians were freelance artists who sought work through an agency.

After months had passed, the families took the agency to court, which declared that the musicians were not anyone’s employees.

The Union of the musicians appealed to the morality of the shipping line, but it was useless.

Ultimately, the families of the young musicians were helped by the Titanic Relief Fund, which was established to manage the donations coming from across the world. The fund treated the musicians as crew members and gave their families monetary compensation.

Meanwhile, the agency stooped as low as sending the bill for one of the musicians’ uniforms to his family.

9. 473 Musicians played in their honour at Royal Albert Hall

An event was held in honour of the 8 Titanic musicians on May 24, 1912, a month after the Titanic sank in the icy waters of the Atlantic, taking with it 1514 lives, including the band members.

Many people attended the memorial concert at Albert Hall. 473 musicians from 7 different orchestras in London played at the occasion. They came from the Royal Opera Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, etc.

It was called the ‘greatest professional orchestra ever assembled’. The event was organised to remember them and their courage and heroism.

The mood was emotional, and everyone in the hall stood up to sing Nearer My God to Thee, which, according to many sources, was the last tune played by the band as the Titanic went into the cold waters.

10. The last song they played was ‘Nearer, My God to Thee.’

All band members died, and the bodies of only 3, Hartley, Hume and Clarke, were found. There have been many debates regarding their last song. A few survivors said it was the hymn, Nearer, My God to Thee, but there are three different versions of this hymn.

There is a high chance that its British version was selected. It was also heard that the band leader Hartley told one of his friends that he would play this hymn if he were ever on a sinking vessel.

However, according to Walter Lord’s book, the Night Lives On, a famous waltz tune was the last song played by the Titanic Orchestra.

The tune, Dream of Autumn, had a melancholy feel to it.

This claim was made based on the testimony by wireless operator Bride, who said he was certain that Autumn was the last tune played by the Titanic Band Members.

However, others claimed to have heard Nearer my God to Thee. It might be possible that Autumn was likely played at a slow pace, so people confused it with the hymn.

It can never be known which tune was played as the final number by the musicians on the Titanic, but both Autumn and Nearer, My God to Thee are beautiful in their own way.

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About Author

Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid writer, possessing immaculate research and editing skills. Author of several academic papers, she has also worked as a freelance writer, producing many technical, creative and marketing pieces. A true aesthete at heart, she loves books a little more than anything else.

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