Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs and chicks aside, I present you the reason for Easter being my favourite time of the year. I am chanting this as a layperson, so some of you may notice missing lines -- for starters, I am not a priest (obviously!), and therefore I cannot sing lines like "The Lord be with you / And with your spirit". Notwithstanding errors, this was done in one single take.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, imagine this:

---
Good Friday for us is a sad and solemn occasion, because we commemorate the death of Christ. But tonight, the church is completely dark, and we are entering with candles..... and bar a few responses from us, it's complete silence. There is an air of anticipation, hope, joy.

We remember the stone that had been rolled away, we remember the two women who came running, their faces filled with joy, noting that the tomb is empty and all the cloths had been put aside, and who saw Jesus risen from the dead... we remember the hundreds who saw Jesus risen from the dead thereafter. What seems hopeless for us is not hopeless anymore.

The candles in the darkness, and this chant, serve to heighten all this.

Happy Easter to all of you.

-----
Full text and notes here:

http://www.icelweb.org/musicfolder/openpdf.php?file=ExsultetLong.pdf