D-Day, my Father and Messiah

On the morning 6 June 1944, exactly 75 years ago, my late father ran up Gold Beach in Normandy. As a Royal Engineer, his mission (along with a few others!) was to remove mines from tank traps and other obstacles. Having completed this task, he spent the rest of the day sat up against the sea-wall watching men and materiel arrive on the beach. Fortunately, he survived the day’s work and ultimately the War.

My father was not a big classical music fan. But he did enjoy some of the pot-boilers. This included Liszt’s Liebestraum and Bach Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring. And the Methodist Hymn Book was never far from his side.  His favourite musical work was Handel’s Messiah. I recall him listening to it on Easter Sunday’s with tears in his eyes. My grandfather had been an organist and had regularly conducted performances of Messiah in the Ashton-under-Lyne area.  So, I guess there were many memories of war and peace invested, for him, in that music.

At first, I did not appreciate Messiah being more interested in the pop music of the day. But I grew up! Despite my later attempts to introduce my father to ‘authentic’ performances or even the King’s College Cambridge version of this work, he preferred the one sung by the Huddersfield Choral Society conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent.  I think that he must have heard it given in Manchester before the war. And his cousin sang in the Society…

So here is a link to ‘And the Glory of the Lord’, sung in my dad’s favourite performance. (Skip the ads)