To start off the revamped Titaniac blog, I’m taking a look at a classic piece of Titanic Culture, Music Aboard the Titanic. A goal for posts like these (and maybe I will come up with a name for them in the fullness of time to keep them unified), is to review the topic in question, provide some critical insight, and maybe generate a conversation or two about the differences between different pieces of Titanica in the world today.

Without further ado, let’s go over the basics and specs of Music Aboard the Titanic. Music Aboard the Titanic is a music album, produced in 1997 by Inside Sounds from Memphis Tennessee. It features 17 tracks of music meant to evoke the voyage of the Titanic in one way or another. It is a suburb album, with a solid selection and style.

Culturally, Music Aboard the Titanic is very significant for a couple of reasons. It was one of the first (if not the first, I am not sure yet) in a series of albums consisting of Titanic– and Titanic-era music which became very popular in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Others include Titanic: Music As Heard On The Fateful Voyage (1997), Titanic Serenade (1998), And The Band Played On: Music Played on the Titanic (1998). We’ll get to those and others in later posts. Part of the popularity and influence of this album comes from Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. Anyone who saw Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in the late 1990’s likely saw cassette tapes of this very album (as my family did in 1997/1998) and may have snagged a copy. To anyone who did, it was well worth it.

Music Aboard the Titanic is also very important because of its overall sound and representation of the music played aboard the Titanic at a time just before the Titanic reentered the public’s consciences in a major way (through James Cameron’s film). The overall sound of the album is very good and arguably very accurate (mind the last sentence of this paragraph). The tracks were performed by the Memphis Jazz Orchestra in a similar orchestration to what one would have found in the Titanic’s orchestra. I don’t know that the producer took into account the fact that the eight men of the Titanic’s band played separately in two groups of five and three, but I think that can be overlooked in this case.

The album’s sound is very lush, sophisticated, and fun. I contend that this is important for two reasons. Firstly, this pleasantness and accuracy of the sound makes it palatable to both the casual and the serious listener. Secondly, just a year later I Salonisti would make waves playing music in James Cameron’s film and anybody who saw the movie would develop a very particular idea of what music aboard the Titanic ought to sound like, based on I Salonisti’s performance. I Salonisti’s and the Memphis Jazz Orchestra’s performances are reasonably similar in their sophisticated and pleasant approach to the music. Although unintentional, this coercion of styles thus forms a stronger impression to the audience of what music sounded like aboard the ship. This will stand in contrast to my review of Titanic: Music As Heard On The Fateful Voyage, whose style and arrangements of some of the same material is altogether different and jarring when compared to the Memphis Jazz Orchestra’s album or to I Salonisti’s three albums of Titanic– and Titanic-era music.

On to the song selection! Music Aboard the Titanic boasts 17 tracks: fifteen of which are period selections, two of which are composed especially for the album to act with the first and last tracks as bookends. The liner notes, which are very good and succinct, break down the tracks into the following sections:

1. 2.	Paddy O’Carroll Leaving Queenstown
3. 4.	Oh, You Beautiful Doll Alexander’s Ragtime Band
5. 6.	Villia (from The Merry Widow) Menuet
7. 8.	I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad Maple Leaf Rag
9. 10. 11.	Andante Cantabile Song Without Words Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2
12. 13. 14. 15.	Blue Danube Berliner Luft Merry Widow Waltz Let Me Call You Sweetheart
16. 17.	Fateful Hour Nearer, My God, to Thee

Cover of “Music Aboard the Titanic”. Cover image: “Titanic Leaving Southampton” by E.D. Walker

The album opens with bagpipes and a traditional tune called Paddy O’Carroll. Although obviously not meant to be played by the orchestra, the short song does remind us of the importance of Irish culture and Ireland to the Titanic as the setting for her construction and as the source of a fair portion of her passengers. Paddy O’Carrol’s bagpipes contrast sharply with the strings of the rest of the album, but appropriately so. Ultimately they remind us that the Titanic left Queenstown, Ireland before turning toward the United States and entering the wide open ocean. The next song, one composed for the album by Wolfe, is called Leaving Queenstown (see what he did there?). The song is a fitting, and graceful tribute to a Titanic ready to triumph. Imagine James Horner’s Leaving Port or Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch, but much slower and more graceful. That is the feel of Leaving Queenstown. Now, in my case I always think of the Cowardly Lion singing “I’m the king of the forest” over the motif of Leaving Queenstown. For some reason the two musical phrases have always sounded similar to me. And somehow I feel like it is somewhat appropriate. Paddy O’Carroll and Leaving Queenstown create a suitable Prologue for our musical voyage.

The Luncheon in the 1^st Class Dining Saloon features Oh, You Beautiful Doll by Nat D’Ayer and Alexander’s Ragtime Band by Irving Berlin. This is one of two mainstream Titanic albums to feature Oh, You Beautiful Doll. Titanic: Music As Heard On The Fateful Voyage is the other. Oh, You Beautiful Doll was also featured for a moment in James Cameron’s film Titanic, but has never made it onto album associated with the movie, which is sad because the film’s version sounds very nice. The Memphis Jazz Orchestra’s Oh, You Beautiful Doll is whimsical, lively, and fun. Tragically, they chose only to perform the chorus twice for the album, as opposed to a verse and chorus (contrast this with Titanic: Music As Heard On The Fateful Voyage, where it feels like they play the song ad infinitum, despite it only lasting a shade over two minutes). Alexander’s Ragtime Band, one of the most important songs in Titanic’s story is next. This light-hearted piano solo is fast and full of joie de vivre. Both songs were very popular in 1912 and are believed to have been played on the night of the disaster as reported by Major Arthur Peuchen and others. Alexander’s Ragtime Band appears on a majority of Titanic albums. This version is one of the better ones in terms of listenability and accuracy. All in all, this is a fast and fun and classy section of the album.

Villia from Lehár’s The Merry Widow is next. This is the first of two of Lehár’s Merry Widow songs to make it onto this album. The Merry Widow is a German operetta written by Franz Lehár and first performed in 1905. It would likely have still been popular in 1912 and I have seen a couple of secondary sources which indicate that selections from it might have been played aboard the Titanic. Menuet (either a foreign spelling or a misspelling of the word “Minuet”) by Paderewski follows. It is actually his Minuet in G which is performed. Another solo piano track, this one is slow and lilting. I have no references to Paderewski being played on the Titanic, but it is not unreasonable to believe that he may have. Together, these songs in the Tea in the Palm Court section form a “lazy afternoon” feel aboard the liner sailing westward.

The album picks up with two ragtime hits from the era: I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad and Maple Leaf Rag. I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad, by Harry Von Tilzer, was another popular song from 1911. The piano and strings track is another bout of short whimsy and, if you don’t bother to look up the lyrics, you need not be bothered by the Oedipus complex they suggest. The Maple Leaf Rag is a perennial tune. Written by Scott Joplin in 1899, the song was very popular, influential, and likely played on the Titanic, either formally by orchestra members, or casually by pianist passengers. The music of this section, 2^nd Class Lounge, is basically in line with the Luncheon in the 1^st Class Dining Saloon, albeit a shade less posh for the era.

Moving into evening, Concert in the 1^st Class Lounge brings with it two Tchaikovsky tunes and a Chopin. Andante Cantabile (the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1) is a very slow classical piece. Truth be told, it is probably my least favorite song on the album. It is not bad; it is just a slow, 6-minute song on an album of upbeat 3-minute-or-less-ers. Song Without Words is an interesting selection for this album as it is a song which would later be featured in James Cameron’s film Titanic, but one for which I have no reference for having actually been played on board ship. This version is another piano solo (there are a lot of those on the album, now that I notice it). Needless to say, Song Without Words’ appearance in Titanic means that it is another song which can be found on a number of other albums. Chopin’s Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2 ends the section very sweetly and pleasantly with another piano solo (see, what did I say?). Musically speaking, this section is a calm before the storm.

The next four songs create the Dinner Dance 1^st Class Restaurant portion of the album. Ignore the “dance” bit in there, since we know there was no organized dancing onboard. I like to think that first class passengers may have enjoyed some impromptu dancing, but I do not know how much I am stretching history by thinking that. This section, specifically the first two songs, is my personal favorite on the album. Up first is Johann Straus’ The Blue Danube (more formally referred to as On the Beautiful Blue Danube). The performance of The Blue Danube is full, luxurious, warm, and inviting. It is the classiest track on this album of classy-molassy music. The full rendition of the song is not present on this album, which I suppose is par for the course. There is a strange clicking sound which appears in the track, but I only notice it when I am being critical. The Blue Danube is another recurring song featured on this album and thanks to the films A Night to Remember and Titanic (1997), it is forever a part of Titanic culture. Fun side note, when I was a child and first heard this song on this album I made the decision that this song would be my favorite song forever because I recognized it from the Woody the Woodpecker episode Banquet Busters. Watch it and tell me that the idea of Woody the Woodpecker and his friends eating to the tune of The Blue Danube on the Titanic doesn’t make you smile. Berliner Lüft is next and arguably the most fun song on the album. Berliner Lüft is German for “Berlin Air” or “Berlin Scent”, depending on the context of your translation. The song comes from Paul Lincke (whose song Glühwürmchen, aka, Glowworm is another perennial Titanic piece, albeit missing from this album) and was written in 1904 for a burlesque and later used in his 1922 operetta Frau Luna. The song is great fun and very quirky and if you listen to someone sing the German lyrics, you are bound to enjoy yourself immensely. The song is the unofficial anthem of the city of Berlin, incidentally. I bet Berliners know how to have classy fun. Merry Widow Waltz is next. The Merry Widow Waltz by Lehár ties back to Villia from earlier as it shares the same source material. This version of the Merry Widow Waltz is probably the better of ones which appear on a Titanic album. Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Leo Friedman ends the section nicely and amiably as passengers wind down for the night.

The album comes to a close with the Epilogue which consists of Fateful Hour, another of Wolfe’s pieces for this album. It is eerie, majestic, and grim. Tying back nicely to Leaving Queenstown, it uses a similar instrumentation, and the sharp and staccato use of strings near the end of the song is practically terrifying. Last, but by no means least is a rendition of Nearer, My God, to Thee. The track begins with ghostly echoes of Paddy O’Carroll and Alexander’s Ragtime Band before moving into the actual piece of music. Any Titaniac worth his salt knows that there are three versions of Nearer, My God, to Thee and that the debate over which version was performed (if any!) is a critical part to our understanding of the disaster. For this album Wolfe selected Arthur Sullivan’s musical setting, the “Propior Deo” tune. To my knowledge, Wolfe’s album is the only one featuring this version to date. Many operate under the misapprehension that the Lowell Mason version was performed, though this is certainly false (the tunes bear a striking resemblance to each other, however, adding to the confusion!). And only one album contains the John Bacchus Dykes tune, though even that tune is more likely to have been performed than Mason’s. Regardless, it is the opinion of this author that Sullivan’s Propior Deo tune was likely the one played, making this album the most accurate in terms of selection for that song. However, the album does depart from reality for a moment in the track when, as the song is building up, the instrumentation switches from mournful strings to an organ. The liner notes explain that this is for dramatic effect, so I’ll buy it! It is a transcendence from the traditional sound of the rest of the album, and a fitting tribute. The track ends with a solo violin playing the last strains of the tune.

There we have it, Music Aboard the Titanic. At the end of the day, this is one of the best Titanic albums out there. In terms of song selection, accuracy, performance style, literature, and packaging, this album is one of the best. If you are interested in the Titanic or the Edwardian era and don’t have this album, I highly recommend you get it. It is a beautiful sampling of music from a variety of sources and all likely to have been played onboard the Titanic in some context or another. Culturally, it is also important to our understanding of the ship and her era as its representation is reasonably accurate and proves highly influential, even nearly two decades since this albums release.

You can visit Inside Sounds webpage here. And if you ever write to them for any reason, experience tells me that they respond in like fairly quickly. It’s a small organization, in the grand scheme of things and the people who run it are fantastically nice. The Memphis Jazz Orchestra can be found here. They have a very fun body of music. Lastly you can purchase the CD here. Do it. It is worth it.

So that is the first of what I hope will be many informative and interesting posts on the ways Titanic’s story is told culturally. I hope you found it as informative and interesting as well! I will probably refrain from reviewing movies for a while, as I feel that those posts would be even lengthier than this. Have a great night, all, and don’t forget to give this album a listen!