It was a century ago that one of the grandest steam liners built at the time set off on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic from the U.K. to New York –– until it was stopped by one very big iceberg far off the coast of Newfoundland.
For those who have seen the movie, or have read the history books, the sinking of the RMS Titanic is, arguably, the most famous maritime disaster of all time. More than 1,500 passengers perished when the ship went down over the course of April 14 and 15, 1912.
“If you look at a floating ice cube, it sits 90 per cent below the waterline. The same proportion holds with icebergs of all sizes, and one of them sank the Titanic,” said Arne Sahlen, a local pianist and music instructor, who describes himself as a social historian.
To mark next month’s 100th anniversary of the tragic event, Sahlen is presenting Titanic – Fact, Falsehoods and Fantasies with music, video, displays and more, Sunday at the CentreStage in Vernon.
“The Titanic’s captain and other experts accepted visual iceberg-watch as safe –– this while speeding along in known iceberg lanes and with woefully few lifeboats, allowed by law back then,” said Sahlen who has gathered a large selection of documentary materials and even music to mark the Titanic anniversary, and says the public horror and fascination with the disaster lives on today.
“This dramatic story includes human, social and cultural history, Titanic science, meaning for the world today, the Titanic in the media, and much more,” he said.
The impact of the Titanic’s sinking was felt far and wide to the present and beyond, added Sahlen.
“Even the province of British Columbia, thousands of miles away, was directly and permanently affected.”
Sahlen, who was born in Prince Rupert, refers to American-born businessman Charles Melville Hays, who went down with the ship.
As the general manager of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Hays is considered the founder of Prince Rupert as it was he who set up the railway’s western terminus on B.C’s central coast, where the port city eventually evolved.
“His contributions are recognized to this day in Prince Rupert with a school, mountain, creek and much more named in his honour,” said Sahlen, adding, “Our province would likely have grown much differently but for him.”
Along with information on Hays, Sahlen has also collected music resulting from the Titanic story, and says like so many disasters, the tragedy showed the best and worst in people even in the music sector.
Even the song, Wreck of the Titanic, which Sahlen owns a copy of, was rushed out soon after the sinking to market on the disaster. However, the musicians who were on board the ship showed unwavering courage and strength.
“The ship’s musicians took no care for their own safety. They played as long as they could, on an ever-more-tilting ship, to calm and console others. They all died in the sinking,” said Sahlen.
Along with his presentation of the Titanic, Sahlen will play a short program of ragtime, classical, jazz and other music to launch his CD, Piano Soul and Spirit.
Sunday’s Titanic – Fact, Falsehoods and Fantasies at the CentreStage, 2913-29th Ave. behind the Vernon Towne Theatre (in the Okanagan Centre for Spiritual Living) starts at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation to the Cambodia Support Group. For more details, contact titanic100@live.ca or call 250-540-4242.
