Easter Day declines toward Vespers with a light that softens and at the same time intensifies, filtered through the stained-glass windows and gathered upon the surfaces of the altar. The air still holds the resonance of the morning celebrations; the candles burn with a steady flame, the liturgical fabrics reflect warm glimmers, the congregation waits.
The introduction of the organ breaks forth with fullness and clarity, a compact mass of sound expanding through the nave and making the stone itself vibrate, and the entire church seems to partake in a shared proclamation, a joy taking on sonic form and spreading with solemn pride.
Music, image, and olfaction converge in a single luminous expansion that celebrates the day of all days with profound intensity.
