Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and French actor Marion Cotillard perform an intensely mystical duet

20 January 2025, 15:02

Marion Cotillard et Yo-Yo Ma interprètent « Le Pont » de Victor Hugo | Notre-Dame de Paris

Two world-class artists united for a performance of spellbinding power in the newly reopened Notre Dame Cathedral.

When Notre Dame Cathedral reopened last month, six years after the fire that almost destroyed the building, it gave the world some of the best musical moments of 2024.

During the star-studded ceremony inside the cathedral, brothers Renaud and Gautier Capuçon played a violin and cello duet and Lang Lang joined forces with the legendary conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

There were also less conventional musical moments, such as when the grand organ of Notre Dame was ‘awakened’ in a call-and-response dialogue between the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, and the organ.

An equally ‘dramatique’ moment of the ceremony came when Yo-Yo Ma collaborated with the French film star Marion Cotillard to perform a poem by Victor Hugo. Cotillard is one of France’s most recognisable actresses, appearing in an array of award-winning films, including La Vie en Rose, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises.

Read more: South African soprano sings ‘Amazing Grace’ solo in breathtaking acoustic of Notre Dame

In the performance, Cotillard gives a chilling reading of Hugo’s poem Le Pont (The Bridge), whilst Ma interjects the poem with improvised gestures on his cello. The poem is deeply moving, dark and mysterious opening with a cry of desperation:

‘I had darkness before my eyes. The abyss

That has no shore and no peak,

Was there, gloomy, immense; and nothing moved there.’

Ma perfectly captures the essence of the text, complimenting Cotillard’s delivery with gentle brush strokes of the cello that are chilling to listen to. The timing between the two legendary performers is perfect, with both leaving space for the immense hall to carry the sound into every corner of the building.

Yo-Yo Ma is no stranger to improvised performances and has frequently raised the importance of it being embedded in musicians’ education, telling The Strad: “Classical musicians today have moved away from improvisation, but it’s an essential part of owning the music.”