Clavier Companion - January/February 2012 - 26

into Jock (the bandleader) and his crowd with their instruments. ‘Funny, they must be going to play,’ thought I, and at this late hour! Jock smiled in passing, looking rather pale for him, remarking, ‘Just going to give them a tune to cheer things up a bit,’ and passed on. Presently the strains of the band reached me faintly as I stood on deck watching....”22 The musicians began playing at about 12:15 a.m. at the top of the Grand Staircase. They were dressed in their regular uniforms with green facings, giving the impression that all was normal. Only for this performance the electric lights were all ablaze and it was the star-studded black night beyond the ornate glass dome. Jack Thayer remembered that the crowd was restless, milling in and out of the foyer, not paying much attention to the music.23 It filtered down the staircase and out onto the decks. Colonel Gracie on A Deck heard it well. There was a door that led from the top of the Grand Staircase to the forward part of the ship where officers worked. Just one turn down this corridor was the Marconi room, where the wireless operators had been sending the distress signals C.Q.D. and S.O.S. since 11:55 p.m. Harold Bride, assistant operator, heard the band’s music “...first while we were working wireless, when there was a ragtime tune for us....”24 Most passengers reflected the state of the ship, calm on the surface but with a deepening turmoil churning underneath. The band was playing Alexander’s Ragtime Band as May Futrelle stood discussing the situation with her husband and other First Class pas-

John Law ( Jock) Hume, violinist from Dumfries, Scotland, age 21. For one hundred years his role on Titanic has been misunderstood, but he was correctly identified by stewardess Violet Jessop as First violin and bandleader. On Titanic he led the string trio, which played next to the restaurants. In Jessop’s words, “Always so eager and full of life was Jock.”34 His body was recovered (No. 193) and buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.35 Jock had been engaged to Mary Costin, and on October 18, 1912, she gave birth to his daughter, Johnann.36 Roger Bricoux, cellist from Cosne-sur-Loire, France, age 20. He was educated in fine conservatories, including Mozart’s alma mater, Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, Italy. 37 Bricoux found professional work in Leeds, England, and then on liners prior to joining Titanic’s string trio. His accent also added a touch of authenticity to the Café’s atmosphere. His body was not recovered. Georges Alexandre Krins, violinist from Spa, Belgium, age 23. He was educated at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Liège, where he won prizes in performance and theory, and went on to a performance career in Spa, Paris, and then at the Ritz Hotel in London. He was chosen for Titanic’s trio as his French accent added to the Continental flavor of the restaurants. His body was not recovered. Titanic’s voyage was his first.

Titanic’s trio:

CLAVIER COMPANION

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

Clavier Companion - January/February 2012

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