The great modern composer Max Richter is preparing to release his newest work, titled Sleep, which he describes in a film about the composition as "an eight-hour lullaby...an eight-hour place to rest." Recorded in New York's Avatar Studios, it's being touted as the "longest ever piece of classical music" by The Telegraph.
"In order to play it you have to be very awake," says Brian Snow in the video, which you can watch below.
Richter has gone to extreme lengths composing something that he hopes people will actually sleep through. Sleep would be right at home on a list of the slowest pieces of music ever composed.
As Richter says in the video, this eight-hour composition was exceedingly difficult to record because of its slowness and attention to note specific detail. "Long, slow bows, nowhere to hide in the music. Every note has to be perfect. It all has to be perfect otherwise you break the illusion."
The eight hour composition will premiere in Berlin this September; an accompanying album will feature a one-hour "daytime listening version." The live performance, which will run from midnight to 8:00 a.m., will feature beds rather than seats so attendees can participate in the full experience of Richter's vision.
Garrett Tiedemann is a writer, filmmaker and composer who owns the multimedia lab CyNar Pictures and its record label American Residue Records.
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