Notre Dame organ resonates at last, after ‘awakening’ for first time in five years

8 December 2024, 19:43 | Updated: 8 December 2024, 19:49

The organ of Notre-Dame resonates in the cathedral, for the first time since the 2019 fire

The Organ of Notre Dame has sounded once more after five years of silence, in a spectacular concert to mark the reopening of the iconic Paris landmark.

The 8,000 pipes of the spectacular Notre Dame organ have sounded for the first time in public since the fire that caused catastrophic damage to the 861 Cathedral five years ago.

The cathedral's reopening was marked by a spectacular concert featuring some of classical music's biggest stars. During the concert, the Organ was blessed and ‘awakened’. The sound resonated around the vast hall, filling every nook and cranny with glorious music. The playing was managed expertly by the official organists of the cathedral, who made history with an event that has received coverage worldwide.

During the ceremony inside the cathedral, brothers Renaud Capuçon and Gautier Capuçon played a violin and cello duet, South African soprano Pretty Yende sang a breathtaking ‘Amazing Grace’, and violinist Daniel Lozakovich performed Bach’s serene Air on the G String.

Later at the concert, pianist Lang Lang joined Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France to perform the finale of Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No.2.

A particular highlight of the performance was a ‘call and response dialogue’ between the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, and the organ. In this section of the performance, the Archbishop recited text in Latin which invoked ‘The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’ to revive the mighty Organ.

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

Olivier Latry – the cathedral's longest-serving organist and the last person to play the titanic instrument –was among the musicians who performed the organ on Palm Sunday in 2019, alongside the other official organists of the Cathedral. Latry was made the organist over 40 years ago, so it seemed fitting that he would mark the cathedral's reopening.

Notre Dame’s famous Grand Organ is the largest organ in France, consisting of approximately 8,000 pipes, a console with five keyboards and pedals, and 109 stops. Its largest pipes stand an impressive 32 feet tall.

Incredibly, the Grand Organ survived the April 2019 fire with only minor damage, with only one pipe sustaining water damage. Despite this, the Grand Organ needed to be completely restored to remove the lead dust that settled inside it after the fire, as the pipes of the Grand Organ contain leather, which helps direct the airflow which is responsible for the vast sound the Organ is capable of making. The leather inside the pipes needed to be replaced, in an expert renovation.