Notre Dame organist to reawaken reconstructed cathedral

On Saturday, one of Paris’ most beloved architectural marvels will reopen to the public for the first time in five years.

Back in 2019, flames engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral’s medieval roof, stained glass windows and iconic spire. But somehow the historic church’s 15th century pipe organ survived. A world-renowned organ master who knows the massive instrument intimately will officially reawaken its 8,000 pipes this weekend.

Olivier Latry has been one of Notre-Dame Cathedral’s “titular” organists since 1985. “Long time ago,” he said with a laugh, “Can you imagine? I don’t know, I cannot.”

But the truly unimaginable happened on April 15th in 2019. Latry and his wife had just set their luggage down at a hotel in Vienna, where he was scheduled to perform. Then a friend in Paris sent a text message saying, “Olivier, it's horrible. Notre Dame is on fire.”

The musician remembered a flood of thoughts coursing through his mind. “How can we imagine that a building which is already 850 years old will just disappear in one night?”

Latry, and people around the world, couldn’t believe their eyes as the tragedy unfolded on the news. In Paris, horrified crowds also watched the flames rip through Notre Dame’s elegant roof causing its timber spire to crumble.

“But it was also incredible to learn the next day that the organ did not suffer at all,” Latry recalled. “It could have burned, it could have melt all the pipes, it could have been full of water because of the firemen. Just a miracle.”

Only one of the organ’s 8,000 pipes sustained water damage. The rest were coated with soot.

Latry has played France’s largest organ since he was 23. That’s when he won a competition to become a Notre Dame organist. They perform, unseen, in an alcove high above the pews.

“The organ is really full of mystery, it’s just incredible,” Latry said, “This is an organ which was first built for the cathedral in 1402. Then it was not changed for two centuries, and then, finally, it was restored almost every 25, 30 years.”

The Grand Organ was dismantled and removed from the scorched cathedral after the fire. During the instrument’s deep cleaning and restoration Latry performed on organs around the world, including at Symphony Hall in October with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Symphony Hall’s gold-colored organ pipes float prominently above the stage. There are about 3,000 fewer than at Notre Dame, and three cascading keyboards rather than five. While we spoke on stage Latry took a seat and demonstrated how the complex instrument works.

“This is one pipe, this is another pipe, another pipe, another pipe,” he said as he pressed key after key. Rows of white knobs — known as stops — flank the keyboard and alter the pipes’ sounds. The organ also has foot pedals that Latry plays kind of like a keyboard for feet. The 62-year old engaged his limbs and lanky frame on the bench.

“It’s a bit like a surfer on the sea,” he explained, “we are going from one unstable position to another unstable position to try to balance the body.”

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The lifelong church and concert organist said he looks forward to playing for the public back home at Notre Dame. The cathedral’s reborn organ has undergone months of tuning and balancing with the new acoustics inside the reconstructed building.

“The sound will be more bright than it was before,” Latry said, “because there is no more dust on the walls.”

The structure’s acoustics will continue to evolve now that millions of visitors can return. First lady Jill Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are expected to be among the first to enter the renovated church. With the Archbishop of Paris, Latry will reawaken the Great Organ during a traditional ceremony on Saturday, December 7th. The first public mass follows on Sunday.

Latry said he can’t wait to look out from the organists’ perch in Notre Dame Cathedral’s elevated loft. “Because we are just between the earth and the sky,” he mused, “and the view to the end of the cathedral is just gorgeous.”

Find a playlist of recordings made on Notre Dame's organ here.