Notre Dame: Christmas concert in an empty cathedral
Sabine Oelze
December 24, 2020
For the first time since the fire a year and a half ago, a choir will sing in the Paris cathedral - in a Christmas Eve concert in the construction site.
A concert deep within a construction siteImage: picture-alliance/AP/gigarama.ru
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"Notre-Dame is a bit like our home," Henry Chalet, conductor of the Notre Dame Choir told the Paris BFM TV station. He said he was "excited" to finally be able to enter the cathedral again after a year and a half. After all, the choir has sung at the Paris landmark for 850 years.
On Christmas Eve, 20 singers, two soloists and an organist are scheduled to perform a concert that will have no live audience in the cathedral itself, due to strict coronavirus protection measures, but will be broadcast live on television.
In June of that year, Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit celebrated a mass in the Chapel of the Virgin Mary for about 30 people, half of whom were priests.
On Good Friday 2020, the archbishop spent a "time of meditation" in the empty cathedral while violinist Renaud Capucon played Bach sonatas and actors read texts by Paul Claudel, Francis Jammes and Mother Teresa.
Last year, the traditional Christmas Midnight Mass moved to a circus tent in the Bois de Boulogne park in the west of the French capital.
The Notre Dame main organ is currently being restored, so a small organ was rented for this year's Christmas concert.
A year and a half ago, the fire not only destroyed much of the 19th century roof and the crossing tower, but also the cathedral's unique acoustics. Researchers from the renowned Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques (CNRS) and the Sorbonne are working on reconstructing what is listed as a French acoustic heritage.
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Reopening planned for 2024
The timing for the Christmas concert is perfect. In late November, a gigantic scaffold was removed that had been erected before the fire for repairs on the crossing tower. The entire buttress had to be reinforced with wooden beams so that the scaffolding could be dismantled. The flames had basically welded together the metal bars of the 200-ton and 40 meter high scaffolding. Weather conditions and then the coronavirus pandemic delayed the removal for months.
People all over the world were shocked when Notre-Dame was engulfed in flames and smoke Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. van der Hasselt
It is now clear that the Notre Dame Cathedral can be saved. The walls could have collapsed under the weight of the scaffolding or during its dismantling. "The threat that the scaffolding posed to the cathedral no longer exists," said French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot. Early next year, more scaffolding will be installed inside the building to allow work to be carried out in the nave.
But in the meantime, the Notre Dame choir can give a Christmas concert there, broadcast live.
The fire in April 2019 caused the collapse of the roof truss and the cross tower designed by 19th century architect Viollet-le-Duc. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged both would be rebuilt according to the historical model by the time Summer Olympics in Paris roll around in 2024. The timetable is considered to be extremely ambitious.
Notre Dame Cathedral: History of the Paris landmark
It was one of the most popular tourist attractions of Paris, until the famous cathedral was ravaged by fire in 2019. Notre Dame was conceived to become the French capital's landmark.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. van der Hasselt
A highlight of French Gothic architecture
Construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Parisian bishop Maurice de Sully. Notre Dame's location in the center of Paris was selected because it was the site of a former Roman temple. The new church's construction stretched over two centuries and it was looted several times. The choir was the first section of the cathedral to be built and an inaugural service was held there in 1220.
Image: picture-alliance
A top location for the new cathedral
A new road axis was built specifically for the construction of the cathedral. Bishop Maurice de Sully wanted to create an impressive landmark with the limestone building at the tip of the Seine island. The 69-meter-high (226-foot-high) twin towers were made of expensive materials to give a noble impression. Donations were collected from Parisians for the project.
Image: picture-alliance/S. Gabriel
A view over Paris
After the choir, the nave was erected during the following construction phase. Its roof was destroyed by the 2019 fire. The two flat towers are impressive. Although the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral is the most visited building in the French capital, the state has been criticized for not paying enough for maintenance. The building's structure is crumbling in many places.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Foreix
The ravages of time
Repair work in the roof apparently caused the fire. Following the 850th anniversary of Notre Dame in 2013, a new renovation program of €100 million ($111 million) was undertaken by the French state, as the supporting arches had been damaged by weather and air pollution. The Gothic arches support the main vault from the outside.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Böhmer
Victor Hugo made it famous
The cathedral is 128 meters long and 33 meters high. The French writer Victor Hugo placed the church at the center of his classic novel from 1831, "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame." Hugo wrote the love story between the cathedral's bell ringer, a deformed hunchback called Quasimodo, and the gypsy Esmeralda to criticize the neglected state of the Gothic church.
Image: Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images
New bells
For the cathedral's 850th anniversary in 2013, the bells that Quasimodo rang in the novel were removed from the towers and nine new bells were cast in a foundry. For their inauguration, even more people than usual assembled in front of Notre Dame.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Renovations 100 years ago
Architect Violett-le-Duc restored the Notre Dame Cathedral in the 19th century. He added the so-called Chimera gallery, which is the name of the series of statues of mythical creatures combining parts of different animals standing on the corner of the balustrade. Another highlight of the restorations were the cathedral's famous rose windows.
Image: picture-alliance
Magnificent windows
With their deep blue and dark red dominant hues, the color effect of the rose windows were best observed from the inside. In true Gothic style, everything in the building strives upwards. Later additions to the church during the Renaissance and Baroque eras are a reflection of those times, but the cathedral's predominant style remains Gothic.
Image: picture-alliance
Extensive damage
Major renovation work was underway when a devastating fire broke out in the attic of the cathedral on April 15, 2019. The roof and the tower in the middle of the nave collapsed. While the fire was still raging in the historic walls, French President Emmanuel Macron promised, "We will rebuild Notre-Dame," hoping that the cathedral will be restored by 2024.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. van der Hasselt
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New Year's Eve concert with Jean-Michael Jarre
Another concert, audience-free but live-streamed, is scheduled at the iconic Parisian venue for December 31. Performed by electronic music artist Jean-Michel Jarre and titled "Welcome to the Other Side," it was commissioned by the city to replace the traditional New Year's Eve party on Champs Elysées boulevard, cancelled due to coronavirus-related contact restrictions. The playbill includes parts of Jarre's "Electronica" (2015) and early well known works like "Oxygene" (1976) and "Magnetic Fields" (1981). That night, visitors can virtually stroll through Notre-Dame's interior using an avatar provided by the musician.
This article was adapted from German by Dagmar Breitenbach.
