Musicians of the Titanic

Until the night of the sinking, the players performed as two separate groups: a quintet led by violinist and official bandleader Wallace 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 the Titanic 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 the lifeboats.

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").

[5][6] Born on 25 October 1887 in Walthamstow in Greater London (then part of Essex),[14] he was the son of William "Ronald" Brailey, a well-known figure of Spiritualism.

[6] In 1911, he enlisted aboard ship, playing first on the Saxonia, prior to joining the Cunard steamer RMS Carpathia in 1912, where he met the French cellist 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 the Titanic.

[27] At the end of 1911, he moved to Lille, France, lived at 5 Place du Lion d'Or, and played in various locations throughout the city.

Hartley's body was recovered by the CS Mackay-Bennett,[30] before being returned to England for burial in his home town of Colne, Lancashire.

[32] 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.

[32] His body was recovered by the CS Mackay-Bennett,[10] and was passed into the care of John Henry Barnstead who arranged for his burial in grave 193 of the designated Titanic plot at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 8 May 1912.

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 Liner Titanic which sank in mid-Atlantic on the 14th day of April 1912.

[10][36][37] 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.

He then moved to the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Liège, Belgium, where he studied from 30 October 1902 until 1908, when he won first prize for violin, with the highest distinction.

[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 at Le Trianon Lyrique.

[11] He lived at 10 Villa Road, Brixton, London and became bandmaster of the Trio String Orchestra, which played near the Café Français.

After the Titanic 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.

[4][11] A memorial concert for the Bandsmen of the Titanic was held at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 24 May to raise funds to support the families of the musicians lost at sea.

[45] The audience joined in singing "Nearer, My God, to Thee" as orchestrated by Sir Henry Wood to close the concert.