Eglise de la Madeleine
June 20, 2024
After our bus and boat tours, we sang our final concert at L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, as it is officially called. I didn’t take any exterior shots, but you can find plenty on the internet. Our group was photographed on the front steps, so if I find that picture, I might add it here. The Neoclassical style of the building is unusual for Paris. It resembles Greek and Roman temples and has 52 rich Corinthian columns surrounding the exterior and some more on the inside. It was once proposed to convert the building to a railroad station, but that was deemed as too expensive a project.
Composers Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré were titular organists. Chopin’s funeral was held there, but was delayed. He wanted Mozart’s Requiem to be sung, but the church had never permitted female singers. Finally the funeral was allowed, but the female soloists had to stand behind a black curtain. Other musicians and artists whose funerals were held there include Jacques Offenbach, Charles Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns, Coco Chanel, Joséphine Baker, Charles Trenet, Dalida and Johnny Hallyday, according to Wikipedia. The women in our choir were allowed to sing without standing behind a curtain. We sang from the steps in front of the altar.
The painting in the half dome over the choir depicts events from the history of Christianity. The wide mosaic below shows Christ with saints that are connected with France in some way. As is usual, Mary Magdalene is confused with many of the other women in the New Testament, such as the sister of Martha. Behind the altar is the statue “The Ecstasy of Mary Magdelene” as she is transported by angels into heaven.
The Baptism of Christ
The main organ is in the gallery on the west end; article. We sang with the choir organ, which was also originally built by Cavallé-Coll.
Our program was the same as the one in Chartres. It was most appropriate to sing the Fauré in a church with which he was associated. Again we had an appreciative audience and more people than I had expected for our final concert in France. Friday would be our one completely free day until our farewell dinner. We flew home on Saturday.