The series of miniatures composed in the wake of Saint Francois charts the revival. There are aspects of the miniatures that suggest echoes of Saint Francois, notably the passages for Fauvette a Tete Noire in Un Vitrail and La Ville. Despite lacking confidence and, at first, direction, the miniatures are always well crafted. Crucially, the miniatures imbued in Olivier Messiaen the self-assurance to write Eclairs, a work that finds a confident composer at the height of his powers. He pared his music down and drew upon the materials that were most familiar. In the progression from Un Vitrail to La Ville, Messiaen can be seen attempting to work out the best way forward. La Ville was composed in 1987, before the worldwide celebrations of Messiaen's 80th birthday. The chorale textures of Un Vitrail and La Ville pave the way for the opening and closing movements of Eclairs, 'Apparition du Christ glorieux' and 'le Christ, lumiere du Paradis'.