Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
6 Parvis Notre-Dame
Place Jean-Paul II
75004 Paris
T: (01)42 34 56 10
E: (Webform) www.notredameparis.fr
*Schedule:
(unknown)
*Remarks:
Eight new bells in south tower, cast by
Cornille-Havard in 2012, replace
four swinging bells from 1856 there;
new light bourdon "Marie" (6 tons)
in north tower (by Eijsbouts, 2012)
joins 1685 heavy bourdon "Emmanuel"
(13271 kg) which remains; thus the
pre-Revolutionary configuration is
restored.
Notes: G#,A#,B,C#,D#,F,F#,G#,A#;
all have flying clappers.
Three clock bells in central spire and
3 more (disused) within the church,
all from 1867, were destroyed in the
great fire of 15 Apr 2019.
2024: Cornille-Havard to add 3 more
bells, including 2024 Olympic bell.
*Technical data:
Motor-swung peal of 10 bells
Pitch of heaviest bell (excluding sub-bourdon) is G# in the bass octave
Keyboard range: (F#)G#A# / NONE
Transposition is not applicable
The arrangement of tones and/or semitones
is non-standard; see Remarks above.
The whole instrument was installed in 2013
with bells made by Cornille-Havard (except for 2)
No auxiliary mechanisms known
Tower details not available
Year of latest technical information source is 2013
*Links:
The Cathedral Website
has both French and English versions.
English page
about the bells and clock, with photo of "Emmanuel".
Schedule
of public access to the towers, with photo.
Long news and history article
on the bells, past-present-future, including photos of molding the largest bell at Cornille-Havard.
News
article: "Notre Dame's iconic bells ring again, marking first chime since 2019 fire"
With a photo of the three new bells (one from the 2024 Olympics) on a rack in front of
the building.
A similar
news article has a different and larger photo, plus a Twitter/X video (0:49) of the restored 8-bell peal
being tested.
News
article (12 Sep 2024) on the return of 8 bells from Villedieu.
Cathedral to reopen Dec.8, 2024, when bells will be heard together for the first time since reinstallation.
News
article (30 Aug 2024) about the bell used in the Paris Olympics this year
(with a fine large photo of the building)
An article
about the bells gives the names of the 8 in the North tower;
"The bells survived the fire in April 2019 and today are still hanging in the bell towers
as the cathedral undergoes restoration. They are undergoing cleaning and were rung on the
1-year anniversary of the fire."
The north belfry was partially burned in the 2019 fire, and the bells are to be removed
in preparation for restoration.
The
Silent Sounds of Notre-Dame’s Bells, namely their response to environmental vibrations
With photos of the fire-damaged north belfry, taken shortly after the fire--a silent testimony
to the miraculous survival of the bells.
Video of 850th anniversary peal
(Apr.2013; 9:48); bells ring in starting with highest; the video includes a couple of stills
of the 2 great bourdons, but does not show them swinging until nearly half way through.