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The halls of one of the world’s most iconic buildings resounded with music once again this weekend as Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral reopened to the public five years after being devastated by fire.
The nearly-eight-centuries old landmark officially welcomed parishioners and world dignitaries back with two services on Saturday and Sunday. The services included the “awakening” of the grand organ, which was largely spared in the great fire that tore through the cathedral in 2019, rites conducted by the Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, and a flurry of musical performances.
The restoration of Notre Dame came with an approximate price tag of $767 million US and required the treatment of 2,000 oak beams in the church’s spire, 42,000 square meters of limestone, stained glass windows, and 8,000 pipes in the church’s legendary organ.
That organ – the largest in all of France – was played by the cathedral’s resident organist, Olivier Latry, who has been in the role since 1985 and who hasn’t played it since 2019. Other performances included the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France led by Gustavo Dudamel, who were joined by the superstar pianist Lang Lang for a performance of Camille Saint- Saëns’ Piano Concerto no. 2. French tenor Benjamin Bernheim also joined the orchestra for Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, and Lebanese artist Hiba Tawaji, star of the musical Notre-Dame de Paris, also shared a performance. Pharrell Williams and Angelique Kidjo offered a pop tribute to the cathedral’s reopening festivities.
Watch a performance of W.A. Mozart’s “Laudate dominum” performed by French soprano Julie Fuchs along with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France here:
Outside the cathedral walls, the famous Emmanuel bell – which had been ringing since the reign of King Louis XIV at the start of the 18th century – resounded across Paris, as if to mark a new era for the church.
Amongst the world leaders and dignitaries in attendance were French president Emmanuel Macron, who celebrated the firefighters, artisans, and donors that helped to restore the cathedral in a mere five years, Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prince William, and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.