<p>Wearing hard hats and protective suits, members of the choir of Notre Dame Cathedral sang inside the medieval Paris landmark for the first time since last year's devastating fire for a special Christmas Eve concert.</p>.<p>Accompanied by an acclaimed cellist and a rented organ, the singers performed beneath the cathedral's stained-glass windows amid the darkened church, which is transitioning from being a precarious hazardous clean-up operation to becoming a massive reconstruction site. The choir initially planned to bring in 20 singers but for safety reasons they were limited to eight.</p>.<p>The choir members stood socially distanced to be able to take off their masks — which is required indoors in France to stem the spread of the virus — and sing. The concert — including “Silent Night” in English and French, “The Hymn of the Angels," and even “Jingle Bells” — was recorded earlier this month and broadcast just before midnight Thursday. The public was not allowed and isn't expected to see the insides of Notre Dame until at least 2024.</p>.<p>The diocese called it a “highly symbolic concert ... marked with emotion and hope,” and a celebration of a “musical heritage that dates to the Middle Ages.” The archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Michel Aupetit, held Thursday's Christmas Eve services in Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Church across from the Louvre Museum instead of Notre Dame.</p>.<p>The Notre Dame choir used to give 60 concerts a year inside the cathedral but has been itinerant ever since, moving among other Paris churches.</p>.<p>The April 2019 fire consumed the cathedral's lead roof and destroyed its spire, and only earlier this month did workers finally stabilize the site enough to begin rebuilding.</p>
<p>Wearing hard hats and protective suits, members of the choir of Notre Dame Cathedral sang inside the medieval Paris landmark for the first time since last year's devastating fire for a special Christmas Eve concert.</p>.<p>Accompanied by an acclaimed cellist and a rented organ, the singers performed beneath the cathedral's stained-glass windows amid the darkened church, which is transitioning from being a precarious hazardous clean-up operation to becoming a massive reconstruction site. The choir initially planned to bring in 20 singers but for safety reasons they were limited to eight.</p>.<p>The choir members stood socially distanced to be able to take off their masks — which is required indoors in France to stem the spread of the virus — and sing. The concert — including “Silent Night” in English and French, “The Hymn of the Angels," and even “Jingle Bells” — was recorded earlier this month and broadcast just before midnight Thursday. The public was not allowed and isn't expected to see the insides of Notre Dame until at least 2024.</p>.<p>The diocese called it a “highly symbolic concert ... marked with emotion and hope,” and a celebration of a “musical heritage that dates to the Middle Ages.” The archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Michel Aupetit, held Thursday's Christmas Eve services in Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Church across from the Louvre Museum instead of Notre Dame.</p>.<p>The Notre Dame choir used to give 60 concerts a year inside the cathedral but has been itinerant ever since, moving among other Paris churches.</p>.<p>The April 2019 fire consumed the cathedral's lead roof and destroyed its spire, and only earlier this month did workers finally stabilize the site enough to begin rebuilding.</p>