By WALNICE NOGUEIRA GALVÃO*
And all this time people were asking themselves: “What about the Marseillaise? What about the Marseillaise?” As expected, it was enthusiastically played and sung in the outer atrium of the church, closing the festivities.
No one would have guessed it, but there stands Notre-Dame, resurrected like a phoenix from its own ashes. Sparkling new, shining in all its restored colors, already in operation.
For those who remember, it took five years of fast-paced work. Funds came from donations from all over the world, as well as official and private contributions. Everyone's names are listed on a mural inside the temple. In total, the work cost close to 1 billion dollars. In France, a campaign was launched asking each citizen to donate 1 euro, for which they would receive a guaranteed 1 euro coin with the image of Notre-Dame (I have one).
The reopening consisted of religious and secular ceremonies, which lasted for two days.
While the second day was occupied by two solemn thanksgiving masses, the first day was dedicated to mixed ceremonies, alternating religious and secular. The arrangement was the result of a gentlemen's agreement, whereby the president, who was keen to give a speech, intervened in the heart of a mass on the first day, forcing it to be considered merely a "liturgical rite". But in the end, everything worked out well.
The spectator's heart was already sinking when the staff of the Archbishop of Paris knocked on the giant closed door three times, demanding entry. Meanwhile, the president, his wife and the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, waited outside, lined up in the bitter cold.
Once the door was opened, the authorities entered.
Donald Trump was soon seen in the place of honor, in the front row, on the right hand of Emmanuel Macron. Of course, he is the one in charge… There were 40 heads of state present, including former French presidents such as Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande.
The neighborhood fire department entered the cathedral, parading to deafening applause. They worked through the night to prevent the fire from spreading to the cathedral and to save what was still intact. Meanwhile, the wooden beams of the ceiling turned into torches and fell, while the lead coating melted and dripped into burning puddles on the floor. They had to be quick to avoid dying while providing assistance. With a martial step and red uniforms, two by two, they made a beautiful sight in the church.
Then came a large delegation of restoration workers. Not all of them, because there were 2.000, but a large commission of women and men, dressed soberly. They were – and Emmanuel M acron read the list of trades – marble workers, cabinetmakers, glaziers, stained glass workers, metalworkers, and even more common professions such as designers, painters, sculptors, bricklayers, carpenters and joiners.
They received a storm of applause. All 2.000 of their names were inscribed on a scroll placed in a steel case, which was placed on top of the beautiful carved Gothic spire – an spire that toppled and fell before the tears of onlookers when the fire was already well under way. It has been restored and is now there again, a decoration in the sky of Paris.
There was a musical number with the Capuçon Brothers, both very popular in Europe, one on the cello and the other on the violin. As it was the first number, the audience hesitated, not knowing whether or not they could applaud in a sacred space. But that day, they could... They played Passacaglia, Haendel.
The second day began with two solemn masses with Te Deum, one in the morning and the other in the evening, with a series of performances in the hours that followed. These were the first ones open to the public. In the evening there was a concert, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, the Venezuelan. Among many others, the cellist Yo Yo Ma, the pianist Lang Lang and the South African soprano Pretty Yende, who sang Amazing Grace.
And all accompanied by the organ with five keyboards and eight thousand pipes, which fortunately survived unscathed, played by one of its three official organists. However, it had to undergo an internal cleaning of all the pipes, contaminated by soot from the fire.
A message was read from Pope Francis, who was unable to attend due to illness.
And all this time people were wondering, “What about marschelsea? And the Marseillaise”? As expected, it was enthusiastically played and sung in the church’s outer atrium, bringing the festivities to a close.
*Walnice Nogueira Galvão Professor Emeritus at FFLCH at USP. She is the author, among other books, of Reading and rereading (Sesc\Ouro over Blue). [amzn.to/3ZboOZj]
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