In the Studio: The rebuilding of Notre Dame
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 1 December 2024
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is one of France’s most famous landmarks. It has stood on the Île de la Cité in the heart of France’s capital since the 12th Century. On 15 April 2019, it was engulfed by flames, but thanks to the bravery of hundreds of firefighters, Notre Dame remained standing. The devastation was, however, immense. The spire collapsed into the nave and the lead roof melted and evaporated. The lattice framework underneath it, made of a thousand oak beams known affectionately as The Forest, turned to charcoal and dust. Agnès Poirier travels around France to talk to the army of craftspeople from across the world, who have been painstakingly reconstructing and restoring Notre Dame. She travels to the Loire to see the work of two American carpenters Jackson du Bois and Michael Burrey, representatives of the US Handshouse Studio: Notre Dame project, who are helping to rebuild the spire. Agnès then visits Normandy where the famous bells are being restored to speak to Paul Bergamo and also where the iconic ornate cross is being repaired by Vincent Combes and his team. Finally she comes face to face with a gargoyle and finds out how to redesign the perfect beast.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the documentary in the studio from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:09.3 | I am Annie Espoirier and today we're going behind the scenes, |
| 0:13.4 | meeting some of the talented craftspeople rebuilding, |
| 0:16.6 | not only one of France's most famous landmarks, |
| 0:19.6 | but one of the most iconic buildings in the world, |
| 0:22.7 | the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. |
| 0:25.4 | To be able to take this from the shape of a tree to the beautiful finished product, |
| 0:29.7 | going from the peak of the natural world to the celebration of humanity is just endlessly |
| 0:35.9 | surprising and gratifying. |
| 0:39.4 | Notre Dame de Paris, our lady of Paris, |
| 0:42.5 | has stood on the hill de la city in the very heart of the capital |
| 0:45.5 | for the past 850 years. |
| 0:49.3 | For Parisians like me, Notre Dame has always been much more |
| 0:52.8 | than a grand church. |
| 0:54.9 | She's a living creature, an imposing, yet, benevolent, mysterious presence in our lives. |
| 1:02.0 | I have the privilege to see Notre Dame every day from my balcony. |
| 1:06.7 | The night of the fire, on the 15th of April 2019, I remember watching, horrified and powerless. |
| 1:16.6 | There's absolutely tragic scene and a very dramatic scene. |
| 1:19.3 | The south-facing roof on the transept is completely consumed in flame. |
| 1:24.9 | There are proofs and plumes of both billowing now up and covering the whole of the left bank of Paris. |
| 1:31.8 | The symbol of Paris is the heart of Paris. It's a symbol of France. |
| 1:36.5 | Everybody's crying and everybody's so sad. |
... |
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