Saturday June 8th to Saturday June 15th, 2019 - A Week in Paris: Music

This blogger discovers that one of the driving forces behind her writing is the novelty of being in an unexplored place and the experience of 'foreignness'. As a result, I have struggled with putting together this post.

Without the Metro, getting around would be very tough!

I am no veteran of Paris, but the two previous times I was there - in 1968 with my parents and 2012 with my sister Nadine - it did not plant the romantic images in my heart that most people emote when they speak of it. It had not been on my 'bucket list' to return.

Robin Lashley and I outside L'Eglise de la Madeleine with the poster advertising our concert between us.

So what brought me back? The local chorale I sing with was offered an opportunity to join with several other American choirs to sing Mozart's Coronation Mass at L'Eglise de la Madeleine, in Paris. This, I thought, was  an experience worth having. My friend Robyn Lashley was keen about going also. Like me, she likes to visit places on her feet, so perhaps we were 'bad' tourists, but we had fun wandering around and sticking our noses (and my camera) into this and that.

L'Eglise de la Madeleine from the Eiffel Tower - with the green roof.

The hotel we stayed in was in the north-west 19th arrondissement, or neighborhood, called La Villette. It is an area that once was home to the abattoir, but now houses exhibition space, a large park, the Science and Technology Museum and the Paris Philharmonie.

Pierre Boulet Hall at the Paris Philharmonie

Discovering there was a concert at the Philharmonie's Pierre Boulet Hall on a night of no rehearsal, meant there was no option: we must go. After all, it was just across the street. So Robin and I trekked over.

It was a most remarkable design, both inside and out. The rounded space, with the organic-shaped structures allowed the music to flow without corners to bump into. It was a very 'alive' space acoustically and the concert - Mahler's Symphony #3 - was dynamic. It kept jet-lag fatigue at bay in a most surprising way! Robin and I both appreciated the acclamation given to the musicians by the audience at the end of the concert. There was no 'parking lot rush' to leave after a 'polite' applause. It continued unabated for what seemed at least 10 to 15 minutes. I have never witnessed such audience faithfulness in our world. I thought it was marvelous!

In addition to the 'serious' performance inside the hall, there was much music in the open spaces outside. In addition to the sounds of much contemporary and ethnic music as we walked around, we also stumbled upon this very casual community band on steps near the concert hall. They played with great enthusiasm and were also very much appreciated by the attentive audience.

The church we sang in - L'Eglise de la Madeleine was huge. Construction on it began in 1763, so it has been around a while. It took quite a few years (85 to be precise)  to complete and its future as a church was put to doubt following the French Revolution. The design was based on the Roman Pantheon and Napolean declared it should become a temple dedicated to the 'glory of the great army'. Finally, after Napolean disappeared from the scene, it became a church.

The altar was enormous, dominated by this large sculpture depicting Mary Magdelene.

I liked this more modern altar which appeared to be the one that is probably used today. The luminosity of the sunburst was striking in the dark space and the clear structure enhanced, rather than obscured, the original altar.

Singing into this space had a sacred feel to it. The organ at the far end had been used by both Camille Saint-Saëns, and Gabriel Fauré, now famous composers, who were both organists here. Our voices echoed in a most wonderful way. Perhaps it led to distortions for the audience, but it was delicious to experience. The church hosts numerous concerts and has a distinguished musical history. The funerals of Frédéric Chopin, Saint-Saëns, and Fauré were held there.

We sat and listened to another choir sing several pieces prior to our performance, one of which was Fauré's Requiem. It was remarkable to imagine that this piece of music had been formed for this space. It was very beautiful.

The audience was not seated in great comfort - nothing cushy for the tushy here! Many churches we saw did not have the permanent pews we are accustomed to. In fact, it seems for much of church history, there was no seating and people stood for the rituals. 

Accordian player, Montmartre (18th arrondissement)

As is the case in most big cities, there were plenty of buskers, although not so many on the Metro here as I've experienced in New York.

Trumpeter in Le Marais  (4th arrondissement)

This trumpeter wheeled a little sound system with him and appeared to be serenading his neighbors. In spite of this very public act, he motioned to me not to photograph him - but I had already managed to get this photo before his request. 

Palais Garnier - the old Opera House.

The last musical experience of note, did not involve listening, sadly. Our performance and rehearsal schedule did not mesh with the Opera Garnier schedule, so I was required to be satisfied instead with a  grand visual symphony!

What a cacophony of color, light, dark, texture and shapes it was! It truly luxuriated with sensation - almost to a greater excess than had Versailles!

We were told that Garnier employed a number of techniques to control costs, such as using marble in mosaics, using very little real gold, and creating sculptures from some type of composite. I could not find any online support for these statements, but found them interesting, if indeed they are true.

The most elaborate spaces were those that would be seen by the 'patrons' or subscribers, who were brought by carriage to the back entrance, while the mere 'public' entered a much less glamorous foyer on foot. Garnier was chosen as the architect, even though he was fresh out of school, because he submitted the lowest bid for the building in 1861, according to our tour guide.

The building was completed in 1875, so it is a mere 144 years old. The two, rather odd golden tires are part of an art installation to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Opera Paris, the company. I was pleased to discover there was public controversy around this modern addition to the space (https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/a-pair-of-golden-tyres-at-the-opera-garnier-in-paris-provokes-public-ire) and relieved to find that the installation will be removed after six months.

We were unable to photograph the auditorium in the direction of the stage, as they were preparing for Don Giovanni. While elaborate, the auditorium seemed rather ordinary compared to the rest of the house.

A noteworthy anachronism seen in the auditorium, was the Chagall mural painted in 1964. It was also controversial when placed there, not only for the unlikely juxtaposition of style, but also because the painter was not French. The Russian Chagall was 77 years old when he created it and took no commission. It required 440 pounds of paint and took a year to complete. I was happy to learn that the original decor lies underneath the polyester panels that can be easily removed.

One reason I wanted to visit this place was the fame it got as the setting for Gaston Leroux’s book The Phantom of the Opera, which was also the basis for the musical. One of the boxes in the photo above is #5, has a plaque on its door commemorating the novel . It was the box for which the fictional Phantom had a standing request.  Apparently there really is a 'lake' under the opera house. It was so swampy, that is was the best way Garnier could deal with the water - to create a cistern. Apparently it is now used to train firefighters to swim in the dark! What fun that sounds like!

The final 'fun fact' about this amazing space, was that Garnier, the architect, had fallen out of such favor with the government at the time of its completion that he had to buy his own ticket to attend the opening performance and could only purchase a minor box. He apparently resisted up to the last minute, but finally relented. Our guide told us, that unlike the government, the people there really appreciated his creation and he received great acclaim from them on the first night.