For those of you who have never been to Paris, I thought it would be good to say two words about the overall geography of Paris. Paris was built around the banks of the River Seine. Each succeeding group of settlers built next to the previous group, fanning out from and around the river. Thus, the Seine became a dividing line between two parts of the city – the Right Bank (Rive Droite) to the north, and the Left Bank ( Rive Gauche) to the south. Each of the new settlements became a new district circling the city and each was given a number. Thus, the arrondissements follow one number after another circling the city around the river. (Look at a map which shows the arrondissements and this pattern will become clear.)

There are two islands in the central part of the river Seine in the heart of Paris:  L’ ‘île de la Cité, on which is located the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris (considered the ‘Heart of France’), the Palais de Justice, the famous Saint Chapelle and Le Conciergerie — the prison where Marie Antoinette awaited execution. The second island, right next to it, is L’île de Saint Louis which has shops, restaurants, hotels and apartments, and is home to the famous Paris ice cream, Berthillon.

Here we were – in the heart of France, the heart of Paris on a cold wintery night. (Pinch me! Am I really here?) A light freezing rain was beginning as we walked along the Seine, on L’île de la Cité, toward the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris. As we turned a corner along the north side of the island leading onto the square in front of the cathedral we were shocked to see scores of people there before us, ticket holders like us, already standing in a long line waiting to get into the church. We were almost tempted to turn back. Fortunately, the line moved quickly and soon we passed under that great edifice, so well-known to students of architecture, students of Paris, and tourists – and to George and me.  Even as we waited,though, we weren’t bored.  Tonight, as on every other night in this City of Lights, spotlights shone on the edifice which towered above us as we waited, cold, in line.

( Am I really here? It seems just yesterday that I was a young girl in The Bronx making my way on the subway to a concert in New York City, or to my piano teacher’s studio in Manhattan.)

We moved forward quickly and once inside found 5 seats (for friends we were meeting), not in the central nave which was already completely filled with concert goers but in the side aisle parallel to the central nave, under the beautifully vaulted high arched stone ceilings. One of the large thick columns which supports the church was a few aisles in front of us and partially blocked our view. It didn’t matter. We could see the conductor and most of the performers. Our friends arrived, found us, and we settled into our seats waiting with anticipation the start of the concert.

A stage had been erected in the central nave, at the back of the church, under the great organ. (The structure and history of this church, with its magnificent rose windows can be rediscovered at the web site below. Check it out!)
http://elore.com/Gothic/History/Overview/paris.htm

Back to the concert — 10 minutes late, the concert began — the orchestra , three choirs — a children’s choir, the conservatory choir, and members of a military choir having filed in, followed by the conductor.  Faure’s Requiem was performed — elegant, melodic harmonies – wonderful impressionism – blends of sounds, familiar yet heard a new in this magnificent performance in this wonderful space. Stravinsky followed after an intermission and organ interlude — the Symphony of Psalms, in some ways more appealing to me than the Faure as Stravinsky’s dissonances and rhythms evoke strong responses in me. These young performers from the Conservatory of Paris met the challenge –rendering a superb performance of this difficult music.

One word about the conductor who was a joy to watch. Without being overly demonstrative, his movements elicited clear responses from the performers. He brought them in on cue and helped shape their phrases , without drawing attention to himself. His hand would arch up and outward and then back close to his body — the instrumentalists and choir followed his delicate movements.  The refrain,  “Ah –le – lu-ia”  —crescendo — decrescendo to pianissimo — sung so beautifully,  each time.  Watching him enhanced my understanding of the music —the nuances and the structure — much like a ballet dancer might.

The concert ended with to a standing ovation for the performers, the conductor and choral masters. We exited through the same doors we had entered, made our way across the bridge (now covered with ‘black ice’ )linking L’île de la Cité to the Left Bank. We found a small restaurant next to Shakespeare & Co., where I ‘d had my writer’s workshop a couple of weeks ago. Still open at 10:30 and willing to seat 5 of us, the waiter was full of jokes and quite lively even at this hour. Charming and seemingly very old, the restaurant had yellow walls,  a low beamed ceiling, slanted wide plank floor, and little tables covered with white cloths where other diners were finishing their meals. It didn’t matter that the other diners were unusually noisy — we were happy to be in a warm cozy place. (Did I mention that none of the great cathedrals are heated?).

George and I enjoyed a favorite — warmed potatoes with herring! Not always on the menu, we are finding this dish frequently listed among appetizers this time of year. We ate, drank, and laughed with our friends and then headed for the metro. We are always sure to get home before the bewitching hour of 1:00 a.m. when the metro closes down and one would have to exit regardless of where you are. We made it! It was a lovely evening.