Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)
Last Journey Home, “… But For Good” (1988)
1988 CHRONICLES OF BÉLA BARTOK'S LIFE again we were the first to disembark, led by Captain Alan Bennell, and were received onshore by representatives of the French government and the city of Cherbourg, as well as by our embassy’s charge d’affaires Dr. György Szathmáry. The ceremonial reception was held at 6:45 p.m. and speeches were delivered by Mayor Louis Gautier, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Culture Camille Ray (who by the way also represented the French government in 1988 at the Europa Cantato in Pécs), Minister of Tourism Olivier Stirn, János Gergely on behalf of Hungarians living in Paris, György Szathmáry, and my brother and I also spoke. Elementary schoolchildren of nearby Caen sang several of Bartok’s children’s songs with an almost perfect Hungarian pronunciation. It was touching to watch the performance of the little enthusiastic singers, among whom, in addition to the French, there were also the usual Arab, Vietnamese and black children, and they had learned the Hungarian lyrics from their music teacher, herself not knowing Hungarian either, and attending with a plastic cast on her broken leg. The Hungarian and French national anthems were played, and then the ceremoniously dressed cemetery staff placed the coffin in a transport vehicle rented from Germany, which was then taken to a closed carport. - In the evening, the mayor gave a cocktail reception in the theater, followed by a gala concert, then we stayed at the Hotel de France. In Cherbourg, our onward travel was organized on the Hungarian side by a major of the government guard with four guards and three cars in addition to the coffin carrier, under the direction of a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Of course, the embassy and communications cars were also included in the march which was secured by the countries we would pass. In France, it consisted of nine motorcycle policemen and a car closing the rear. 2 July - We left for Caen at 8 in the morning, and then - it being Saturday - we asked for information at Rouen about traffic conditions and 512
