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2013 03 Love at full swingBy Marc RuganiLove at full swing Marie loves Denis.
Denis loves Marie.
That's how it is!
Nothing to be done!
No, nothing!
And anyway, why do anything about it? Why go against love or prevent love? No, we should be letting everything take its course!
Love doesn't respond to orders or make decisions.
And like lovers all over the world, as soon as Marie and Denis set eyes on each other, they loved each other.
Is it because they were born on the same day, in green Normandy – often white in winter, as it is this winter – in the same village and the same dwelling? Is it because they grew up together, raised by the same attentive, tender hands, newly dressed by the same love? And because they breathed the same smells from the neighbouring countryside, the same scents, the iodine in the strong winds from the Channel which blew all the way to them, heard the same noises, the cows lowing in the fields and cowsheds, the same birdsong, because they felt the same shy rays of the wintry sun?
They shared everything.
They are as close as brother and sister – closer: like twins – two halves of one whole, in spite of the differences between them; Marie is bigger and round, Denis is slighter, Marie's voice is deeper and Denis's voice is higher. What does it matter when you love each other!
And then there was that long journey together to Paris with their friends - Gabriel, Anne-Geneviève, Marcel, Etienne, Benoît-Joseph, Maurice and Jean-Marie; what an adventure! And what unforgettable memories: the enthusiastic crowd hurrying to see them and applaud them as they wended their way, what an incredible success.
Paris is going to be great!
Because Marie, Denis and their friends are all famous performers: ten beautiful voices, including Emmanuel, and the whole of the capital is longing to hear them at the end of March, in Notre Dame itself! Yes, Notre Dame! Soon!
Every boy and girl in the group is trembling at the thought!
Alas! When they arrived in Paris Marie was separated from Denis and the others and had to stay with Emmanuel - they never found out why - true, it wasn't far, barely fifty metres – they can hear each other singing and rehearsing – but all the same, they weren't together!
And with grandpa Emmanuel!
Not that Emmanuel is unpleasant, quite the opposite! Maybe it's because he's so old, but he's charming and considerate. He would do anything for Marie. He has been on his own for a very long time and Marie's presence has suddenly lit up his life!
And then he's got a really beautiful voice, very deep, which the specialists say is in F sharp, which is rare.
But he's a grandpa! He may be charming, but he's still a grandpa!
And there's Marie, separated from Denis and all her young friends and her best friend; no more chattering about anything and everything with Anne-Geneviève, no more cheerful laughter with Jean-Marie, the most joyful of them all!
And Denis, her love, so far away!
"Denis, where are you? Oh! I miss you so much!"
Marie is sad.
As soon as Marie started singing, Emmanuel knew she was sad: Marie was singing in tune, in G sharp, just as she was meant to, but her song wasn't singing anything, it didn't evoke anything, it was empty and hollow with no brightness or resonance, and it was muted as if there was a veil over it.
Emmanuel knew that an immense sadness had rent Marie's heart.
"Oh! Marie, what's the matter? Why are you so sad?" Emmanuel could not, dared not ask these questions; they had only known each other for a few days, and so many years separated them! Whatever the reason was, he knew he was powerless; anything he might say to console Marie would be useless.
"What could I do for you, Marie?"
Not far away, Denis is sad too.
And nothing can change that.
The agreeable company of Gabriel, Anne-Geneviève, Marcel, Etienne, Benoît-Joseph, Maurice and Jean-Marie can't change it; and yet what cheerful camaraderie, everyone united in their joy at singing! and ever since they arrived they have been so joyous!
Their superb location can't change it either: the Ile de la Cité, the river banks, the Seine and the capital are at their feet, in a breath-taking panorama! Hey, keep some breath for the concert!
Denis and Marie should have been happy; and this concert should have been a marvellous celebration for the two lovers.
Alas!
And when Marie's sad song reaches him, every note breaks Denis's heart.
"Oh! Lord, I don't understand why are you being so harsh?"
Denis is singing with his friends, but there is no joy in his song; his C sharp1 is as dull as Marie's song and strikes a discordant note in their joyful concert.
"What could we do?" they wondered, because they are all fond of each other, and when one of them is unhappy that affects them all.
"Before the concert we must sing for Marie, and Denis must join in!" "to tell her that Denis loves her and that we love her", "to tell her we're with her and thinking about her, and that he is thinking about her"; "and Denis must be able to sing a solo, and his voice, supported by our voices, will blow his love all the way to Marie".
They set to work, and Denis worked harder than the others; discreetly and almost in silence, to give Marie a surprise.
The concert was to be on Saturday; and at midday on Friday, under a clear blue sky, Denis sang out his song for Marie:
"Marie, I love you!" "Marie, I love you!" at full swing, in a magnificent, joyful, confident C sharp1 full of hope;
It was midday on Friday when Gabriel, Anne-Geneviève, Marcel, Etienne, Benoît-Joseph, Maurice and Jean-Marie joined in Denis's song for Marie:
"Marie, we love you!" "Marie, we love you!", at full swing, in A and B sharp and D, E, F, G and A sharp1, powerful, flamboyant, making a marvellous sound.
After a few notes, Emmanuel understood; he joined in immediately and with great enthusiasm launched his very deep, magical F sharp across the Paris sky, singing "Marie, I love you too! Have faith! Denis loves you and we all love you too!"
And Marie was moved, and gradually came out of herself; she began singing – humming, really – softly at first, and then, as she was gradually transported and carried away by her friends' message of love, she was soon swinging with all her might, putting her heart and all her strength into it and singing in her lovely low voice: "I love you too" "I love you too".
It was an unexpected, but magnificent concert!
At midday, the Parisians and the tourists thronging the square in front of Notre Dame stopped and listened, and then raised their heads.
And a great cry went up from the crowd: "It's the bells, it's the bells!" "Listen, listen: that's Emmanuel the great bell, that loud voice!" "Listen, listen, that's Marie, yes it is! And that's Gabriel, and that one's Anne-Geneviève, Denis, Marcel, and then Etienne, Benoît-Joseph, Maurice and Jean-Marie! "
And the son – who remembered the story of Quasimodo, the bell-ringer at Notre Dame, and Esmeralda – called out to his father: "Look over there, Daddy, up in the south tower, look at the great bell ringing! Boom, boom, boom, isn't it lovely, Daddy?
And the daughter, joyfully clapping her hands: "Look Mum, up there in the north tower, that bell is Denis, what a clear sound!"
And the old couples on the benches were moved to tears!
And soon another cry went up from the jubilant, delighted, dazzled crowd "It's Notre Dame's new bells, they've come all the way from Normandy for us!"
And Marie swung as hard as she could, singing "I love you, I love you", and Denis swung as hard as he could, singing "I love you, I love you", and all the bells and the great bells sang together, all shouting their love out into the sky.
Joy is infectious: it floated down from the towers onto the massed crowd; dancers formed spontaneous processions, large and small, and they began turning and turning….to the rhythm of Notre Dame's bells. Passers-by and tourists were dancing hand in hand as villagers danced on feast days in times gone by, to the sound of the bells, beneath a clear blue sky! A few songs and tunes rose up from different places and then the song took over and the entire crowd sang.
No-one had ever seen a celebration like it!
To the extent that journalists and cameras, who had been alerted, were soon on the scene: "What's all the excitement in the square today? What's going on? What's all the singing and dancing about?"
The pictures were the main item on the evening news!
The celebration went on for a long time.
And high above the towers of Notre Dame, up in the skies of Paris, as Emmanuel, the great bell, and all the other bells swung to and fro singing in chorus, Marie and Denis told each other: "I love you".
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