Pharrell Williams, world pop star, performed in a gospel show in the Notre Dame atrium, the highlight of the concert.or recorded on Friday and broadcast on Saturday to celebrate the reopening of the cathedral, five years after its fire. Performing his global hit “Happy,” he was surrounded by 70 gospel singers dressed in satin white robes with camouflage motifs. The ensemble and its soloist also performed, at the intersection of soul and hip-hop, the song “Joy” by Voices of Fire, a choir that Pharrell Williams founded with his pastor uncle, Ezekiel Williams, in his hometown of Virginia. .
The 51-year-old American singer, rapper, songwriter and producer has become an essential figure on the international artistic scene with his 13 Grammy Awards. Since 2023, he has also been director of men’s collections at Louis Vuitton, the jewel of the luxury group LVMH, whose president, Bernard Arnault, present at Saturday’s ceremony, has donated more than 200 million euros for the restoration of the cathedral, being one of the most generous donors.
The artist was among the personalities who carried the Olympic torch ahead of the Paris Olympics, an event sponsored by LVMH, this summer. Earlier in the evening, classical music stars performed, inside the cathedral or in its atrium, led by the Venezuelan maestro Gustavo Dudamel. The Chinese piano virtuoso Just Just offered his interpretation of the concerto No. 2 by Saint-Saëns and the Swedish violin prodigy Daniel Lozakovich He played the Aria from Bach’s Third Suite for Orchestra. The South African soprano Pretty Yende sang the hymn “Amazing Grace” and the French-Swiss tenor Benjamin Bernheim He performed Schubert’s Ave Maria.
More surprising, the Franco-Beninese Angelique Kidjo performed “Jerusalema”, a song written in Zulu and dedicated to the city of Jerusalem, which became a worldwide hit after its remix by the Nigerian rapper Burna Boy. For her part, the French actress Marion Cotillard recited the poem “The Bridge” (The Lamentations) by Victor Hugo, author of the novel “Our Lady of Paris”, accompanied by the French-American cellist of Chinese origin Yo-Yo Ma. The concert concluded with a performance by the French DJ Michaël Canitrot, who played with light effects on the facade of the cathedral.