Articles of Interest
The ‘Titanic’ disaster and cylinder recordings
Alan Peat
Two pieces of music are inextricably linked with the sinking of the Titanic: ‘Nearer, my God, to Thee’ and ‘Autumn’. After the ‘Titanic’ sank in April 1912 and the survivors were conveyed to New York in their rescue ship ‘The Carpathia’ many were interviewed. Harold Bride (the Titanic’s junior wireless operator) was quoted in the New York Times as saying,
“…the last I saw of the band, when I was floating out in the sea with my lifebelt on, it was still on deck playing Autumn”.
Many other survivors, however, reported that ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ was the last hymn played by the band. Before the end of April 1912 Benefit performances, in both the United Kingdom and America, were arranged for the relief of both the surviving crew, passengers and their families. At the Metropolitan Opera House the first half of the programme concluded with ‘Autumn’ followed by ‘Nearer My God to Thee’. Other examples of the direct association of these songs and the disaster can be found in sheet music printed in 1912. The cover of ‘Nearer my God to Thee’ includes the words ‘In memory of the heroes of the ill-fated Titanic’ and in fact more than 300 songs were written directly about the sinking.
A French postcard titled ‘Plus Pres de toi Mon Dieu’ is made up of a photograph of the Titanic with the score of ‘Nearer, my God, to Thee’ to its right and below the ship’s image, the hymn’s lyrics in both French and English. A British company, Bamforth and Co. Ltd also produced a series of six postcards, each with a verse form ‘Nearer, my God, to thee’.
It is clear that ‘Nearer, My God, to thee’ was already popular prior to the disaster. It was, for example, recorded by the Edison Male Quartet on a Gold moulded cylinder before the tragedy. What needs to be established is whether a link exists between the release dates of the hymn and the disaster itself. Put bluntly: Were cylinder record producers ‘cashing’ in on the disaster by releasing tunes that the public already associated with the sinking of the Titanic?.
On Blue Amberols ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’ was in fact released three times. It’s first release was as number 1557 recorded by the ‘Knickerbocker Quartet’. The release date is December 1912 *. The hymn was commonly associated with the disaster by this date and its choice for release can tentatively be ascribed to the sinking, particularly when one releases that it was actually recorded in March 1910. It would have been a less than hasty response but as it was never released before and the actual date of release being no more than 8 months after the sinking it is possible to hypothesise that there is a direct link.
The next release of the tune has an even more striking relationship to the event as it coincides directly with the anniversary of the disaster. Blue Amberol 1647 by Ferdinand Himmelreich was released in March 1913, coinciding exactly with the demand that would have been anticipated on the first anniversary of that fateful night.
This must be more than a mere coincidence. It is also a direct recording rather than a dubbing from a disc master.
Further evidence for a direct link between the Blue Amberol recordings and the tragedy can be found in the third and final June 1914 release, Blue Amberol 2318. Knickerbocker Quartet ‘Elks’ initiatory march / Nearer My God to Thee The release date, although close to the second anniversary, would have been a little late. It is not the release date which is striking but rather the recording : April 1912 - the exact month of the sinking.
It is possible to suggest, after considering all of this evidence, that in April 1912 the Knickerbocker Quartet recorded Elks’ initiatory march / Nearer My God to Thee but it was decided not to release this ( perhaps because the Initiatory march element had no relationship to the disaster) and so an earlier recording by the Knickerbocker Quartet was chosen and released in December 1912. A year later things were far more coordinated and a direct recording was made and released to coincide exactly with the first anniversary. The final 1914 release was the last ‘outing’ for ‘Nearer My God, to Thee’ and the advent of World War One and its attendant horrors ended the anniversary releases.
The tune ‘Autumn’ is more problematic. It is easy to assume that this must be the Episcopal hymn ‘Autumn’ but it is equally likely that it could refer to the popular piece ‘Songe d’Automne’. the release date, as Blue Amberol 3379, was January 1918 but it was recorded close to the first anniversary in May 1913. With this tune I see no direct link. The Titanic’s sinking may have made it more popular and Edison may have been responding to this popularity but any direct link can be no more than tenuous.
When one considers other cylinder manufacturers the evidence becomes more problematic and ascribing release dates is certainly more complex. The author has found only one other cylinder recording of ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ on an Indestructible Record, Albany, New York. 868. Band. Nearer My God to Thee. (Paraphrase). The author has not yet been able to accurately date this record ( can anyone assist?)
In conclusion, disasters have been the unfortunate stimuli for a multitude of recordings. Cylinder manufacturers were certainly not averse to ‘ cashing in’ on these disasters, sometimes even recreating the sounds of a disaster in dramatic manner as occurred on cylinder after the San Francisco earthquake. The link between the Blue amberol releases of ‘Nearer, my God, to thee’ and the Titanic’s sinking seems to be more than a tenuous one.
The author would be keen to know of any other Titanic related recordings, either as 78’s or cylinders. The most well known is the Charity record ‘Be British’ on ‘The Winner’ record label. Do others exist? Photographs and details would be greatly appreciated. Alan Peat can be contacted directly at [email protected]
“…the last I saw of the band, when I was floating out in the sea with my lifebelt on, it was still on deck playing Autumn”.
Many other survivors, however, reported that ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ was the last hymn played by the band. Before the end of April 1912 Benefit performances, in both the United Kingdom and America, were arranged for the relief of both the surviving crew, passengers and their families. At the Metropolitan Opera House the first half of the programme concluded with ‘Autumn’ followed by ‘Nearer My God to Thee’. Other examples of the direct association of these songs and the disaster can be found in sheet music printed in 1912. The cover of ‘Nearer my God to Thee’ includes the words ‘In memory of the heroes of the ill-fated Titanic’ and in fact more than 300 songs were written directly about the sinking.
A French postcard titled ‘Plus Pres de toi Mon Dieu’ is made up of a photograph of the Titanic with the score of ‘Nearer, my God, to Thee’ to its right and below the ship’s image, the hymn’s lyrics in both French and English. A British company, Bamforth and Co. Ltd also produced a series of six postcards, each with a verse form ‘Nearer, my God, to thee’.
It is clear that ‘Nearer, My God, to thee’ was already popular prior to the disaster. It was, for example, recorded by the Edison Male Quartet on a Gold moulded cylinder before the tragedy. What needs to be established is whether a link exists between the release dates of the hymn and the disaster itself. Put bluntly: Were cylinder record producers ‘cashing’ in on the disaster by releasing tunes that the public already associated with the sinking of the Titanic?.
On Blue Amberols ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’ was in fact released three times. It’s first release was as number 1557 recorded by the ‘Knickerbocker Quartet’. The release date is December 1912 *. The hymn was commonly associated with the disaster by this date and its choice for release can tentatively be ascribed to the sinking, particularly when one releases that it was actually recorded in March 1910. It would have been a less than hasty response but as it was never released before and the actual date of release being no more than 8 months after the sinking it is possible to hypothesise that there is a direct link.
The next release of the tune has an even more striking relationship to the event as it coincides directly with the anniversary of the disaster. Blue Amberol 1647 by Ferdinand Himmelreich was released in March 1913, coinciding exactly with the demand that would have been anticipated on the first anniversary of that fateful night.
This must be more than a mere coincidence. It is also a direct recording rather than a dubbing from a disc master.
Further evidence for a direct link between the Blue Amberol recordings and the tragedy can be found in the third and final June 1914 release, Blue Amberol 2318. Knickerbocker Quartet ‘Elks’ initiatory march / Nearer My God to Thee The release date, although close to the second anniversary, would have been a little late. It is not the release date which is striking but rather the recording : April 1912 - the exact month of the sinking.
It is possible to suggest, after considering all of this evidence, that in April 1912 the Knickerbocker Quartet recorded Elks’ initiatory march / Nearer My God to Thee but it was decided not to release this ( perhaps because the Initiatory march element had no relationship to the disaster) and so an earlier recording by the Knickerbocker Quartet was chosen and released in December 1912. A year later things were far more coordinated and a direct recording was made and released to coincide exactly with the first anniversary. The final 1914 release was the last ‘outing’ for ‘Nearer My God, to Thee’ and the advent of World War One and its attendant horrors ended the anniversary releases.
The tune ‘Autumn’ is more problematic. It is easy to assume that this must be the Episcopal hymn ‘Autumn’ but it is equally likely that it could refer to the popular piece ‘Songe d’Automne’. the release date, as Blue Amberol 3379, was January 1918 but it was recorded close to the first anniversary in May 1913. With this tune I see no direct link. The Titanic’s sinking may have made it more popular and Edison may have been responding to this popularity but any direct link can be no more than tenuous.
When one considers other cylinder manufacturers the evidence becomes more problematic and ascribing release dates is certainly more complex. The author has found only one other cylinder recording of ‘Nearer My God to Thee’ on an Indestructible Record, Albany, New York. 868. Band. Nearer My God to Thee. (Paraphrase). The author has not yet been able to accurately date this record ( can anyone assist?)
In conclusion, disasters have been the unfortunate stimuli for a multitude of recordings. Cylinder manufacturers were certainly not averse to ‘ cashing in’ on these disasters, sometimes even recreating the sounds of a disaster in dramatic manner as occurred on cylinder after the San Francisco earthquake. The link between the Blue amberol releases of ‘Nearer, my God, to thee’ and the Titanic’s sinking seems to be more than a tenuous one.
The author would be keen to know of any other Titanic related recordings, either as 78’s or cylinders. The most well known is the Charity record ‘Be British’ on ‘The Winner’ record label. Do others exist? Photographs and details would be greatly appreciated. Alan Peat can be contacted directly at [email protected]
Dominic Combe responds to Alan Peat’s article:
There is an Edison 4 minute wax cylinder version of “Be British” by George D’Albert
(catalogue number 12476). It is much the same as the Winner version except that
it is longer. I have not listened to either version for a while, but my impression was that
it came over more melodramatically and less like a recruiting speech. Rather
charmingly, the cylinder version has “Asleep in the Deep” playing softly during the
spoken section. It was announced in August for September 1912 in the Edison
Phonograph monthly.
There is also a mountaineer’s ballad on a late period Edison Blue Amberol 5200 “The
Sinking of the Titanic” sung by Ernest V. Stoneman and issued as late as August
1926. The lyrics are quite different, very banal and repetitive – this one springs to
mind: “So when death came gliding by, 1600 had to die, It was bad when the great
ship went down!” However, it shows, as do recent films and salvage operations, how
profoundly the Titanic disaster has imprinted itself on our cultural consciousness.
As to the release of “Nearer my God to Thee”, I would not rule out a resurgence of
interest in that fine old hymn as a result of the disaster; the benefit performances you
mention are an indication of that. The record companies at that time seem to have
taken several weeks to respond to current events and hit tunes with releases, as the
cylinder of “Be British” issued for September 1912 suggests.
“Nearer my God to Thee” as an Edison 2 minute has 6 versions, 3214 Chimes, 3408
Edison Brass Quartet, 109 and 8136 Edison Grand Concert Band, 7267 Edison Male
Quartet and 8022 Mandolin and the Wax Amberol 379 is the one you mention for
March 1910 which was later re-released as a Blue Amberol 1557 in Dec 1912 . I
have looked it up in the “New Phonogram” magazine, and also in the EPM, but there
is no sense of any awareness of the record’s commemorative quality, only a general
buzz about the new Blue Amberol.
My feeling is that none of these versions were marketed specifically for the Titanic
disaster by the Edison Co. but the record may well have been bought or promoted at
local level along these lines. Songe d’Automne exists in the British 4 minute list as
12020 by the British Concert Orchestra, May 1909. The Blue Amberol is 3379, way
beyond the event and promoted without any mention of the Titanic. I’m not sure if
there is a wax 4 minute record of it.
You may be right about the March 1913 release of Ferdinand Himmelreich’s piano
version being an anniversary release because the record slip which accompanied the
cylinder mentions the Titanic… but also President McKinley. I quote:
“When President McKinley lay dying from an assassin’s bullet, it was on his lips to
the very “last, and when the great steamship “Titanic” sank in mid-ocean in April
1912 it was being “played by the band and sung by the doomed passengers, even as
the boat took her final “plunge.”
To my mind, there is no sense of anniversary from the text, only a list (these items
among others) of points of interest to market the record. The record is announced in
February for March 1913, not April. However, live dealers in the US would not have
missed the opportunity to push such a record in April, with or without tact! However
in the UK, the record was not released until June 1913 which would have missed the
mark.
In no way would I contest your attempt to make a connection between the “Titanic”
disaster and the release of these records, but the “Be British” and the Himmelreich
piano solo with its chiming effects are the only ones which have an element of
“Titanic” promotion in the sales blurb.
Edison did become sharper at capitalising on things like St Patrick’s Day and the
outbreak of war in Europe not to mention the US’s own involvement to push records,
but most records were issued 2 or 3 months after the event (ie a Broadway success).
When Lehar’s “Gipsy Love” had its first American performance in 1911, the star
singer, Marguerita Sylva was already under contract and 4 cylinders of her creator
role were made and released in time for the event. This was trumpeted and boomed
in the EPM very conspicuously. Sadly the records then seem to have been
withdrawn. This, and a stunt whereby a dance record (Feather Your Nest, I think)
was released and danced to within a week of the dance’s first outing in that same
hotel in the early 20s, are the only instances that spring to mind of really pushing a
record to match an event.
I am sure however, that given the emotional impact on the public either side of the
Atlantic of the “Titanic” disaster would have led to many sales of what were already
very popular pieces of music………and “Be British” is a tear jerker to this day.
I have not considered other makes of cylinder or record in this letter, and I entirely
agree with your last paragraph. You have only to listen to the hill-billy and
mountaineer or rail-road songs by Stoneman, Dalhart and others. How about
“There’s a New Star in Heaven Tonight” Dalhart 5239 which commemorates the
death of Rudolph Valentino, or 23093 ‘Tis a Story that Shall Live for Ever (Stanley
Kirkby) which commemorates the death of Scott of the Antarctic. The Scopes
Monkey trial is celebrated, and all manner of deaths and accidents. Consider the
famous “Runaway Train” we all grew up with!
I have heard of the San Francisco earthquake record; there is a Sterling cylinder
(570) descriptive selection of the eruption of Vesuvius, and a descriptive selection of
the Battle of Manila on brown wax etc etc etc.
(catalogue number 12476). It is much the same as the Winner version except that
it is longer. I have not listened to either version for a while, but my impression was that
it came over more melodramatically and less like a recruiting speech. Rather
charmingly, the cylinder version has “Asleep in the Deep” playing softly during the
spoken section. It was announced in August for September 1912 in the Edison
Phonograph monthly.
There is also a mountaineer’s ballad on a late period Edison Blue Amberol 5200 “The
Sinking of the Titanic” sung by Ernest V. Stoneman and issued as late as August
1926. The lyrics are quite different, very banal and repetitive – this one springs to
mind: “So when death came gliding by, 1600 had to die, It was bad when the great
ship went down!” However, it shows, as do recent films and salvage operations, how
profoundly the Titanic disaster has imprinted itself on our cultural consciousness.
As to the release of “Nearer my God to Thee”, I would not rule out a resurgence of
interest in that fine old hymn as a result of the disaster; the benefit performances you
mention are an indication of that. The record companies at that time seem to have
taken several weeks to respond to current events and hit tunes with releases, as the
cylinder of “Be British” issued for September 1912 suggests.
“Nearer my God to Thee” as an Edison 2 minute has 6 versions, 3214 Chimes, 3408
Edison Brass Quartet, 109 and 8136 Edison Grand Concert Band, 7267 Edison Male
Quartet and 8022 Mandolin and the Wax Amberol 379 is the one you mention for
March 1910 which was later re-released as a Blue Amberol 1557 in Dec 1912 . I
have looked it up in the “New Phonogram” magazine, and also in the EPM, but there
is no sense of any awareness of the record’s commemorative quality, only a general
buzz about the new Blue Amberol.
My feeling is that none of these versions were marketed specifically for the Titanic
disaster by the Edison Co. but the record may well have been bought or promoted at
local level along these lines. Songe d’Automne exists in the British 4 minute list as
12020 by the British Concert Orchestra, May 1909. The Blue Amberol is 3379, way
beyond the event and promoted without any mention of the Titanic. I’m not sure if
there is a wax 4 minute record of it.
You may be right about the March 1913 release of Ferdinand Himmelreich’s piano
version being an anniversary release because the record slip which accompanied the
cylinder mentions the Titanic… but also President McKinley. I quote:
“When President McKinley lay dying from an assassin’s bullet, it was on his lips to
the very “last, and when the great steamship “Titanic” sank in mid-ocean in April
1912 it was being “played by the band and sung by the doomed passengers, even as
the boat took her final “plunge.”
To my mind, there is no sense of anniversary from the text, only a list (these items
among others) of points of interest to market the record. The record is announced in
February for March 1913, not April. However, live dealers in the US would not have
missed the opportunity to push such a record in April, with or without tact! However
in the UK, the record was not released until June 1913 which would have missed the
mark.
In no way would I contest your attempt to make a connection between the “Titanic”
disaster and the release of these records, but the “Be British” and the Himmelreich
piano solo with its chiming effects are the only ones which have an element of
“Titanic” promotion in the sales blurb.
Edison did become sharper at capitalising on things like St Patrick’s Day and the
outbreak of war in Europe not to mention the US’s own involvement to push records,
but most records were issued 2 or 3 months after the event (ie a Broadway success).
When Lehar’s “Gipsy Love” had its first American performance in 1911, the star
singer, Marguerita Sylva was already under contract and 4 cylinders of her creator
role were made and released in time for the event. This was trumpeted and boomed
in the EPM very conspicuously. Sadly the records then seem to have been
withdrawn. This, and a stunt whereby a dance record (Feather Your Nest, I think)
was released and danced to within a week of the dance’s first outing in that same
hotel in the early 20s, are the only instances that spring to mind of really pushing a
record to match an event.
I am sure however, that given the emotional impact on the public either side of the
Atlantic of the “Titanic” disaster would have led to many sales of what were already
very popular pieces of music………and “Be British” is a tear jerker to this day.
I have not considered other makes of cylinder or record in this letter, and I entirely
agree with your last paragraph. You have only to listen to the hill-billy and
mountaineer or rail-road songs by Stoneman, Dalhart and others. How about
“There’s a New Star in Heaven Tonight” Dalhart 5239 which commemorates the
death of Rudolph Valentino, or 23093 ‘Tis a Story that Shall Live for Ever (Stanley
Kirkby) which commemorates the death of Scott of the Antarctic. The Scopes
Monkey trial is celebrated, and all manner of deaths and accidents. Consider the
famous “Runaway Train” we all grew up with!
I have heard of the San Francisco earthquake record; there is a Sterling cylinder
(570) descriptive selection of the eruption of Vesuvius, and a descriptive selection of
the Battle of Manila on brown wax etc etc etc.
Gramophone Company - No 4 soundbox
The No 4 soundbox has a diaphragm of mica, the traditional material for
diaphragms. This is a natural material, noted for its resistance to heat (it was
used in stoves before heat resistant glass was developed), and I have never
heard of such a diaphragm cracking. Rough treatment can cause it to
delaminate, however, especially round the centre where the stylus bar is
attached.
The problem with the backplate is common on No 4 soundboxes from around
1929. It is caused by the backplate expanding with age, being made of a zincbased
alloy, so that it becomes very tight in the front section, which is made of
brass. The backplate not only expands, it tends to become very fragile, so
that any attempt to lever it out of the main rim may break it.
However, if the diaphragm is already damaged beyond repair, the remains of
the diaphragm can be removed, and the backplate gently levered apart from
the inside. Work all round the perimeter, a little at a time. This is less likely to
cause breakage than levering round the outside.
Once the backplate is out, file down the step that fits into the rim (if a lathe is
available, this can be done more neatly and quickly). If it is broken, it can be
repaired with epoxy resin; care is needed to ensure that it is kept absolutely
flat.
diaphragms. This is a natural material, noted for its resistance to heat (it was
used in stoves before heat resistant glass was developed), and I have never
heard of such a diaphragm cracking. Rough treatment can cause it to
delaminate, however, especially round the centre where the stylus bar is
attached.
The problem with the backplate is common on No 4 soundboxes from around
1929. It is caused by the backplate expanding with age, being made of a zincbased
alloy, so that it becomes very tight in the front section, which is made of
brass. The backplate not only expands, it tends to become very fragile, so
that any attempt to lever it out of the main rim may break it.
However, if the diaphragm is already damaged beyond repair, the remains of
the diaphragm can be removed, and the backplate gently levered apart from
the inside. Work all round the perimeter, a little at a time. This is less likely to
cause breakage than levering round the outside.
Once the backplate is out, file down the step that fits into the rim (if a lathe is
available, this can be done more neatly and quickly). If it is broken, it can be
repaired with epoxy resin; care is needed to ensure that it is kept absolutely
flat.