How the Opening Ceremony of the Notre-Dame Can Inspire Us All to a Deeper Humanity in 2025

The feeling of conclusion of the year started a couple of weeks ago when I watched the re-opening ceremony of the Notre Dame in Paris. On the 8th of December the magnificent “Cavaille-Coll” organ of the Notre Dame in Paris was blessed. And this was a unique occasion for the organists and the Catholic Church to showcase their unique approach to improvisation and Liturgy. I have been watching the entire ceremony, and particularly the organ blessing, several times. It has left a deep-seated feeling of admiration that I would like to cherish as life lessons and inspiration for 2025.

The 18 minutes covered a conversation between the Archbishop and the Organ over 8 parts. The organ of Notre Dame has 4 “titular” organists that cover all the masses and the maintenance of the instrument. Each part of the conversation was followed by a brief improvisation of about 2 minutes. Almost everything about this performance was remarkable and unique, and brought valuable lessons.?

1.??????? Tradition matters

Most modern societies are often devoid of tradition and any rooted culture. In my lifetime, I’ve seen traditions only detoriate more and more into commercial vehicles or otherwise versions so mild or unrecognizable that they are just not interesting. Move over to the Notre Dame in 2024. Still, everything is kept in tune with traditions that go back a very long time. It’s such a dissonant with the modern world that it stands out once again. And within this conservative environment, the organ music has always evolved. After Bach, everyone has always complained that people played different music then Bach. But there’s so much more to music, and the 8 improvisations by the 4 organists are just a testament to that. These 8 short pieces were so diverse in registration, color and technique and delivered with an intensity you don’t hear on much “composed” music.

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2.??????? Skill allows for intuition to flourish

Watching these four organists play to the sayings of the archbishop was jaw-dropping. Just imagine the mastery over an instrument to hear liturgical words being spoken, and subsequently improvise on that. That’s pure intuition, which can only manifest itself when you know your instrument inside out and are able to maintain technique amid the unknown. The striking polarity between the 3rd and 4th piece by Vincent Dubois ranges from full-swell energy resembling the heights of Romanticism to a reincarnation of Bach. I rarely meet people that combine skills and character to play their role in the world in such an amazing way. It’s perhaps a similar energy that Volodymyr Zelensky brings. It’s something to aspire to!

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3.??????? Humans are irreplaceable

In our technology driven world there is a lot of talk about the relevance of humans going forward and how we have lost craftsman skills. Obviously, technology has always been highlighting where humans are superior– and that’s when they use their critical faculties. Moving away from pure cognitive strength, intuition and spiritual depth do come to the surface as the frontier that simply can’t be touched by technology. Muscles have been replaced to some extent with heavy machinery, and brains are being replaced by some extent by computing power of all sorts. But what always has remained is refined motory skills, real creative intelligence, and now even more so – intuition and spiritual depth. All trades that are only part of the human experience.

4.??????? 5 years is only as long as the weight you attach to it

The architect of the Notre Dame back in the 13th century most likely did not see the cathedral finished, as was usual at the time. Today, even with the use of traditional craftsmanship – it only took 5 years to complete the rebuild. I was impressed with the philosophical leadership by Emmanuel Macron who said that 5 years was an ambitious target that could unite the people of France, create hope to see the Icon of Paris restored, and achieve this at a human scale. Everyone involved succeeded, and this ceremony was a worthy tribute to the wide variety of humans involved in the endeavor.

What it’s taught me – is that 5 years is a short time when you set a bold and ambitious target, but it’s not so long when you are sleepwalking through life. It’s true that high concentration makes the experience of time subjective and by dent of that create a more fulfilling life.

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Reflection

Over the past 5 years of running Van Kleef / Andersson I rarely had boring days – and I often crave them. Let’s assume I will live to the age of 80, I will have roughly 9 sets of 5 years left to do something meaningful with. 9 is a small number. I will have to be careful not to waste it – like you tend to do in school when you’re young. On the contrary – 5 years is a long time with many great experiences and journeys to be had, it’s not useful either to dwell on maximum utility of every day either. Overall, vision matters and creates meaning.

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Moving forward into 2025 I would like to bring forward more of this mysterious marvel and humanity that I’ve witnessed and bring more presence and creativity forward. The risk the organ players took by playing nonconformist, but high-quality music is exemplary and inspires. I hope to find my color and play it more strongly – especially when the stakes are high.

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>>> Listen and Watch the Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8gJEgpSTLI&pp=ygUhbm90cmUgZGFtZSBvcmdhbiBibGVzc2VkIGF3YWtlbmVk

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The sense of conclusion to this year began a few weeks ago when I watched the reopening ceremony of the Notre-Dame in Paris. On December 8th, the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Notre-Dame was blessed. This unique occasion allowed the organists and the Catholic Church to showcase their distinctive approach to improvisation and liturgy. I’ve watched the entire ceremony several times, particularly the organ blessing, and it has left a profound impression on me—one that I would like to carry forward as inspiration and life lessons for 2025.

The 18-minute performance was a dialogue between the Archbishop and the organ, unfolding over eight parts. The organ of the Notre-Dame has four “titular” organists who oversee all the masses and maintain the instrument. Each part of the ceremony was followed by a brief improvisation of about two minutes. Almost everything about this performance was extraordinary, offering valuable lessons.

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Tradition Matters

Modern societies are often devoid of meaningful traditions and rooted culture. In my lifetime, I’ve seen traditions deteriorate into commercialized spectacles or watered-down versions so mild and unrecognizable that they lose their essence. Contrast that with the Notre-Dame in 2024, where everything remains harmoniously aligned with centuries-old traditions. This dissonance with the modern world makes it all the more striking.

Within this conservative environment, organ music has continued to evolve. After Bach, there was always a lament that music no longer followed his style. Yet, there is so much more to explore. The eight improvisations by the four organists were a testament to that: diverse in registration, color, and technique, and delivered with an intensity rarely found in much “composed” music.

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Skill Allows Intuition to Flourish

Watching these four organists respond to the Archbishop’s words was jaw-dropping. Imagine the mastery required to hear liturgical phrases and instantly improvise music that complements them. This is pure intuition, the kind that can only arise when one knows their instrument inside and out and can maintain technique amid the unknown.

The striking contrast between the third and fourth pieces by Vincent Dubois ranged from full-swell Romanticism to a reincarnation of Bach—a polarity that left me awestruck. Few people possess the skill and character to bring such artistry to the world. It’s a similar energy to what we’ve seen in leaders like Volodymyr Zelensky—an energy worth aspiring to.

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Humans Are Irreplaceable

In our technology-driven world, much is said about whether humans remain relevant and how we’ve lost traditional craftsmanship. Yet, technology has always highlighted where humans are superior: in their critical faculties. Moving beyond pure cognitive strength, intuition and spiritual depth emerge as frontiers that technology cannot touch.

While muscles have been replaced by heavy machinery and some cognitive tasks by computing power, what remains—and always will—are refined motor skills, genuine creative intelligence, and, increasingly, intuition and spiritual depth. These are uniquely human traits, integral to our experience and irreplaceable by machines.

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Five Years Is Only as Long as the Weight You Attach to It

The original architect of the Notre-Dame in the 13th century likely did not live to see its completion, as was common in that era. Yet today, using traditional craftsmanship, the rebuilding after the fire took only five years. I was deeply impressed by the philosophical leadership of Emmanuel Macron, who declared that five years was an ambitious target meant to unite the people of France, inspire hope, and restore the icon of Paris on a human scale.

What this taught me is that five years can feel short when you set bold and ambitious goals, yet it can feel interminable if you are merely sleepwalking through life. High concentration and purpose make time subjective and, by extension, more fulfilling.

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Reflection

Over the past five years, I’ve rarely had boring days—and often, I crave them. Assuming I live to the age of 80, I have roughly nine sets of five years left to achieve something meaningful. Nine is a small number. I must be careful not to waste it, as one tends to do when they’re young and in school. At the same time, five years is long enough for countless great experiences and journeys—it’s not helpful to obsess over maximizing every single day. Ultimately, having a vision and pursuing it with purpose is what creates meaning.

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Moving Forward

As we move into 2025, I want to bring more of the mysterious marvel and humanity I’ve witnessed into my own life. I aim to show more presence and creativity. The organ players’ willingness to take risks by playing nonconformist yet high-quality music is exemplary and deeply inspiring. My hope is to find my own color and play it more boldly, especially when the stakes are high. Because after all, "The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it."

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