Music for an iceberg

Today, the Momster and I visited the Titanic artifact exhibit at the Putnam Museum in Davenport.  Interesting to walk through, with lots of stuff that was recovered from  the depths of the ocean.  Every visitor is given a boarding pass with the name of a real passenger, and at the end of the exhibit, visitors can see whether their passenger survived or not.  My passenger was a third-class Englishwoman who survived the disaster.  Sadly, her husband did not.  Women and children first onto the too few lifeboats of the doomed ship.

While the story and history of the maiden voyage of this enormous vessel is sad and tragic, as a Music Zombie, I'm always attracted to the musical aspects of history.  Which means I felt especially touched while reading about the musicians aboard the Titanic.  Titanic's privately contracted bandleader, Wallace Hartley, and his orchestra were designated as second-class and were in the unusual position of not being part of the crew or passenger list.  So, they were barred from boarding any lifeboats when the ship started to sink. 

The musicians were contracted to play on the ship by the C.W. and F.N. Black agency of Liverpool.  There were actually two independent ensembles, used at different times in different locations, and it is likely that when the ship began to sink, it was the only time all eight players were assembled together.  Shortly after midnight, on April 14, 1912, all 8 men were assembled to play in the First Class Lounge.  They were later moved to the Boat Deck, as more and more passengers were piled onto the lifeboats.  They were asked (or ordered?) to play to keep the passengers calm.

We don't know for certain what the last melody played by these brave men, or what was going through their minds as the chaos ensued around them.  But they played on, until they couldn't play any more.  I like to think that they were showman to the last, and, as musicians, they felt that if they were to die, they were to die doing what they loved.  I am perhaps over-romanticising, but it's a nice thought.  In any case, my hat goes off to them, with respect.