Nearer, My God, to Thee

'Nearer, My God, to Thee' is a world-famous hymn, which is speculated to have been the last piece of music played on the sinking Titanic. The melody was composed in 1856 under the title 'Bethany' by the American musician (and banker) Lowell Mason (1792-1872). 

Commissioned by the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy, Peter Habraken wrote an arrangement of this work for wind orchestra, especially suitable for concert performances and commemorations at indoor locations, such as churches and concert halls. The nature of the instrumentation makes this work less suitable for outdoor performances and places considerable demands on musicians' instrument and sound control: for example, the melody is sometimes played by the flute section in a rather low, and therefore soft, register. This gives a rich sound, but it requires a lot of attention to orchestral balance, intonation, breath control and musical lines. This piece is therefore particularly suitable for more ambitious orchestras and conductors, who want to develop the sound quality of the orchestra. The music parts look simple, but due to the challenges mentioned above, the difficulty of the piece is still classified as level 4. 

"Peter Habraken's works are distinguished by a well-thought-out working method and an original vision. His reading of 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' can certainly be mentioned in line with this and would not be out of place in the library of any respectable orchestra. I look forward to his future compositions, and enjoy following his musical journey, after all, my very best wishes accompany him in this." 

Harmen Cnossen (former chief conductor of the Marine Band of the Netherlands Navy, also guest conductor during the world premiere on March 2, 2026 at the Freedom Concert in the Nieuwe Kerk in Katwijk aan Zee).