Notre Dame’s choir is ready to sing again at home as cathedral’s bells ring anew

La Maîtrise Notre Dame de Paris, the official choir of Notre Dame Cathedral, “found itself orphaned” after the devastating 15 April, 2019, fire that collapsed the spire and part of Notre Dame’s roof, causing extensive damage inside.

But it will be back in Paris’ cathedral from 7 December, after five years of work on the cathedral’s restoration.

For eight days, Paris’ famous musicians will be mobilized for a packed schedule of ceremonies, including a special concert on 17 and 18 December, featuring Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat.

Henri Chalet, a qualified organist, director of the choir since 2014, is putting the finishing touches to an exceptionally rich program for the year 2025, which he describes as “historic,” featuring internationally renowned musicians and soloists.

The choir “had partly lost its influence since the French Revolution, but today the Maîtrise has returned to a level of excellence, and is one of France’s leading vocal and choral training centres.

It brings together 150 student choristers—the youngest being merely 5-years-old—divided into four choirs.

Emotions are extremely high as the reopening approaches, he said. “We have sung in a lot of beautiful places in recent years,” he concluded.

“But at Notre Dame, there is ‘something extra.’ It is a place that speaks to everyone, and to the whole world. It is going to be a great thrill to be able to return there.”