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Programme Note

As the great Orthodox liturgical texts ring out on Great and Holy Saturday, the Resurrection of Christ is already happening. Liturgical vestments change in front of our eyes from black to silver, and the Church waits with anticipation until midnight, to proclaim that "Christ is Risen."
So, therefore, the mood of As One Who Has Slept, taken from the great liturgy of St Basil on Easter Saturday morning, is full of awe, silence and expectation. The atmosphere is deeply solemn as we stand before the greatest mystery of our salvation. Christ has descended into Hades, and "trampled down death by death; and to those in the tomb He has given life."

John Tavener