Notre-Dame de Paris: Controversy Over Appointment of Young Organist

A petition with over 3,700 signatures has sparked debate over the recruitment procedures for Notre-Dame's new organists, appointed last April. The petitioners criticize the lack of transparency, particularly questioning the appointment of 21-year-old Thibault Fajoles.

Earlier this year, another petition against installing contemporary stained glass windows in the cathedral garnered over 130,000 signatures. The recent petition, titled "Notre-Dame de Paris on Fire Again," launched by forty organists, has stirred the music world despite fewer signatures.

The controversy centers on the appointment of the cathedral's four titular organists by the rector-archpriest, seven months before the cathedral's reopening in December. Thierry Escaich and Thibault Fajoles joined incumbents Olivier Latry and Vincent Dubois, the latter as assistant titular organist. While Escaich's appointment is undisputed, Fajoles' selection has been heavily criticized, with petitioners calling it "an arbitrary choice made without consultation." They argue that a competitive recruitment process would have been more appropriate.