Easter at Notre Dame de Paris (Cultural Activity 5)

Notre Dame de Paris is probably, with the possible exception of Sacre-Coeur, Paris’ most well known church. It is always full of tourists from all over the world; the square outside is like a 30 second tour of the United Nations. The inside of the building is torn between tourism and worship and sometimes seems a little confused between the two.
In spite of this conflict some of my favorite experiences have taken place at Notre Dame. My first day in Paris I went in and was dazzled by the rose windows. I’ve attended mass there several times. Climbing to the very top of the towers, seeing the big bell, and looking across the city was a wonderful experience.



Another choice experience at Notre Dame de Paris occurred rather serendipitously on Easter Morning. Angela, Courtney and I arrived at the cathedral early for the Gregorian mass, and it turned out we were just in time for the Lauds service. Lauds is one of the old daily services; the name comes from the Latin verb “to praise”, and that’s exactly what we did.
The texts came from Psalms and hymns; the music consisted of simple melodies and chants. Although the texts were fairly standard for Christian hymns, but the music and the way we sang it were different from the Protestant styles and traditions that I’m used to. Instead of four part harmonies accompanied by an organ, we sang simple melodies in response to a soloist. For several psalms there was only a chant marked out on the handout that was given to the congregation. Texture came from the sound of the words, the contrast between the soloist and the congregation, and the organ which occasionally had solos of its own. The music had an ascending quality to it, and allowed the disparate voices of the motley congregation to be united in singing praises to the heavens.



And it didn’t stop there! As Lauds concluded we were given the words and music for Mass. I could barely contain my excitement at seeing the Gregorian notation and Latin text, even though I’m hardly fluent in either. The Gregorian Ensemble at Notre Dame is incredible, and as their exquisite voices sang the Introït the church filled with the scent of incense. The priest and others (I don’t know the details of who does what and when during Mass) processed in with the Cross, surrounded with the smoke from the censer.

The first thing they did was the Rite de l’aspersion. The celebrant blessed a bowl of water (see Ezekial 47:1-9), then walked up and down the aisles and used an olive branch to sprinkle the holy water on the assembled worshippers.
Mass continued mostly in Latin, although the most important parts (like preparing Communion) were done in French. At the end we sang my favorite Latin text, Agnus Dei. In Latin it goes like this:

Agnus Dei qui tolis peccáta mundi:
Miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei qui tolis peccáta mundi:
Miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei qui tolis peccáta mundiL
Dona nobis pacem.

And in English:

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world:
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world:
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world:
Give us peace.

The ensemble sang the first part of each stanza, reminding us who the Lamb of God is; we joined at the second halves, pleading for mercy and peace. Intermittently through both services the sounds of the famous bells could be heard resonating through the stone and arches, combining with incense, stained glass, architecture, a profound sense of history, and our music to create a beautiful experience.

As Mass ended we were treated to some organ music. By the time we got home bells were ringing all over Paris to celebrate the Resurrection.