Paris Some are wearing hard work boots, most are wearing jeans, and one is singing while carrying a white construction helmet under his arm. They are gathered in the church hall in front of the altar, and their music starts out softly before sweeping through the Gothic-style church and up to the high stone ceiling.
Though the team of architects, stonemasons, archaeologists, art historians, art conservators, and others have assisted in rebuilding Paris Notre-Dame cathedral after a fire destroyed the famous French Gothic masterpiece over five years ago, the 80-member choir has joined together for more than just singing.
“It felt natural to start a choir with hundreds of people working to rebuild a structure so closely tied to French art, history, and culture,” said Stephanie Duchne, a chemical engineer and conservation scientist who assisted in forming the Notre-Dame Companions Choir, also known as the Notre-Dame Companions, almost two years ago.
To produce exceptional music, a small army of people must collaborate, much like when a church is being built and rebuilt.
To make the music sound beautiful, everyone must contribute in some way, according to Duchne, the Laboratory of Research for Historical Monuments’ head archaeologist and conservation scientist.
The Notre-Dame Compagnons Choir is getting ready to perform in the structure they helped save, five years after the fire that destroyed a large portion of the cathedral’s roof and brought down its famous spire, which has long been one of the most identifiable sights on the city skyline. It will take place during the weeks-long festivities commemorating the much anticipated reopening.
The French composer Gabriel Faur’s Cantique de Jean Racine, or Chant by Jean Racine, will be performed by the choir on December 11.
Duchne recalls precisely where she was when she learned about the fire, just like many others do.
Before a rehearsal at the Saint-S Verin Church, the oldest church in the Paris Left Bank and a popular venue for musical performances, Duchne, 46, said NBC News, “My brother sent me a picture of the fire.” She recalls that only a few weeks prior, she and her spouse had brought their kids to see the cathedral, which was now in danger of being destroyed by ashes and debris.
She claimed that everyone was extremely depressed and worried about the cathedral’s possible overnight collapse. When we discovered that she was still alive in the morning, we were really relieved.
The widespread perception that the cathedral is much more than just a structure is echoed by French author Agnes Poirier, who wrote the book Notre-Dame: The Soul of France in the wake of the fire.
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