The Sinking of the Titanic (Bryars)
The Sinking of the Titanic is a work by British minimalist composer Gavin Bryars. Inspired by the story that the band on the RMS Titanic continued to perform as the ship sank in 1912, it imagines how the music performed by the band would reverberate through the water some time after they ceased performing. Composed between 1969 and 1972, the work is now considered one of the classics of British classical experimental music.[1]
History
Bryars' inspiration for the work came from a report that the wireless operator
Bryars imagined that the sound would continue to reverberate as it disappeared under the waves. Writing in 1993, Bryars said "the music goes through a number of different states, reflecting an implied slow descent to the ocean bed which give a range of echo and deflection phenomena, allied to considerable high frequency reduction".[2]
The work dates back to 1969, when Bryars wrote a short piece for an exhibition in support of art students at Portsmouth. In keeping with work done by contemporary collective
Bryars frequently participated in the Music Now series of concerts organised by Victor Schonfield in London in the early 1970s, usually with pianist John Tilbury.[3] Schonfield was keen to showcase Bryars' music and in December 1972 organised a concert at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall.[3] The Sinking Of The Titanic would be the centrepiece of the concert. Bryars created a more traditional score for the work and used the Episcopal hymn Autumn as the basis of the work, based on the testimony of wireless operator Harold Bride, although there was some discussion that it may have been actually Aughton that was heard. Bryars incorporated fragments of Aughton and other tunes reportedly heard on the ship.[3] The work has been performed several times in subsequent years, including a performance in San Francisco conducted by John Adams. Other performance venues have included New York's Guggenheim Museum, a Belgian art-nouveau swimming pool and a Huddersfield nightclub.[4]
The work has been described as an "indeterminate" and "open work", which has changed as new information on the disaster comes to light.[4] The work was originally scored for small orchestra and tape, but has expanded to include other sources such as music boxes and turntables.
In 2012, the centennial year of the disaster, the Gavin Bryars Ensemble, Philip Jeck and artists
Recordings
The work was first recorded in 1975 when it became the first release on Brian Eno's Obscure Records. It was subsequently rerecorded in a much longer version in 1990. A third version was released in 2007 in a collaboration with Philip Jeck and Alter Ego.
1975 recording
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b8/Sinking_of_the_Titanic_1975.jpeg/200px-Sinking_of_the_Titanic_1975.jpeg)
Brian Eno had known Bryars since 1969 when he saw Bryars playing in the
Eno had been keen on creating a record label in 1973 to release experimental music, but this had come to naught. But in 1975, buoyed by the success of his solo career, he approached Island Records, who were receptive to the idea.
It was reissued in 1982 on
Track listing
- The Sinking of the Titanic (24:40)
- Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (25:57)
1990 recording
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/00/Sinking_of_the_Titanic_1990.jpg/200px-Sinking_of_the_Titanic_1990.jpg)
On 13–14 April 1990, the Gavin Bryars Ensemble performed the work at the Printemps de Bourges festival in France. Following the
Released on
Subsequently released on
Performed by the Gavin Bryars Ensemble, Wenhaston Boys Choir, Ziella and Orlanda Bryars, Lucy and Camilla Thornton (additional strings)
Track listing
The Sinking of the Titanic (60'13)
- Opening Part I (1'57)
- Titanic Hymn (Autumn) All Strings (5'10)
- Hymn II (5'26)
- Interlude (4'35)
- Hymn III (7'48)
- Hymn IV (Aughton) (6'25)
- Opening Part II (6'08)
- Titanic Lament (5'27)
- Woodblocks (11:47)
- Last Hymn (1:47)
- Coda (4:23)
2005 recording
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/37/Sinking_of_the_Titanic_2007.jpg/200px-Sinking_of_the_Titanic_2007.jpg)
In 2005 Bryars was invited by the Italian ensemble Alter Ego to perform the piece at the 49th International Festival of Contemporary Music at the
The performance was released on
Track listing
- The Sinking of The Titanic (72'35)
References
- ^ Clements, Andrew (15 April 2012). "The Sinking of the Titanic – review Town Hall, Birmingham". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ a b "The Sinking of the Titanic at Xebec (1990)". gavinbryars.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Exploits And Opinions Of Gavin Bryars, 'Pataphysician". The Quietus. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ a b "In Pictures - The Sinking of the Titanic". Anothermag.com. 29 September 2012.
- ^ a b c "The Sinking of the Titanic". Forma.org.uk. 29 September 2012.
- ISBN 1844670031.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7528-7570-5.
- ^ a b c d "The Sinking of the Titanic Point recording". GavinBryars.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.