![Illustration of music book cover that depicts the tragedy of the Titanic](/sites-drupal/default/files/styles/max_scale_640x640/public/field_ers_item_record_image/2023-05/TL76.jpg?itok=WNAb9AZh)
Ḥurbn Ṭiṭaniḳ, oder, Der naser ḳeyver
Henry A. Russotto, 1869–[1925] (Composer); Jacob Keller, 1879–ca. 1900s (Illustrator);
Solomon Small (Smulewitz), 1868–1943 (Lyricist)
Ḥurbn Ṭiṭaniḳ, oder, Der naser ḳeyver (The Titanic’s Disaster)
New York: Hebrew Publishing Co., 1912
This song was a powerful means of expressing the immediate, emotional reaction to the tragic sinking of the Titanic, which deeply moved the Jewish immigrant community. The catastrophe of April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic that claimed the lives of approximately 1,500 people triggered waves of profound sorrow among these newcomers, who themselves had crossed that same ocean not long before.
Solomon Small (Smulewitz), a celebrated tenor, badkhen (wedding entertainer), composer, poet, and playwright, wrote Yiddish lyrics for this song in the style of a folk ballad. The song tells the story of the passenger Ida Straus (1849–1912), who refused to part from her husband, the philanthropist Isidor Straus (1845–1912), as the ship submerged; in an act of supreme love, she chose to stay with him rather than join the women and children who were being rescued. The composer, cantor, and conductor Henry A. Russotto set the poignant lyrics to music.
The artist Jacob Keller created the cover for the music score. Born in Minsk, Belarus, then a part of the Russian Empire, Keller came to the United States in 1899 and later worked for the Hebrew Publishing Co., where he specialized in illustrating the company’s many music editions and in designing popular Rosh Hashanah postcards, which were marked by a blend of nostalgia for the Old Country and excitement for the bright future in America.
Keller’s illustration for the Titanic score is dominated by the figures of Ida and Isidor clinging tightly to one another as they rise over the sinking ship. An angel emerges from above the iceberg and holds a wreath over the couple’s heads, while tiny silhouettes of people trying to escape their destiny are visible on the left.
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