8.5 hours duration, a full night’s repose.
31 sections explore variations on five themes.
Scored for piano, cello, viola, violin, organ, voice (soprano), synthesisers and electronics.
The opus took years to complete;
during its creation the composer consulted a neuroscientist.
It has been performed live in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London, and the Sydney Opera House.
Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole.
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
In a Los Angeles park as evening falls
Lines of army cots lie to attention
Awaiting, for one night only,
A warm body to have and hold while
Liminal melodies weave time into
A tapestry of dreams
A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by
One after one; the sound of rain, and bees
Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas,
Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky –
I’ve thought of all by turns, and still I lie
Sleepless…
~ William Wordsworth, “To Sleep”
The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.
~ W.C. Fields
Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine.
~ Thomas Aquinas
A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.
~ Charlotte Bronte
Sleep is the best meditation.
~ Dalai Lama
On the back of the 8 CD boxed set, Richer wrote, “Sleep is my personal lullaby for a frenetic world — a manifesto for a slower pace of existence.”
Deutsche Grammophon also produced a one hour ‘highlights’ package entitled From Sleep, colloquially known as Nap.
Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.
~ Anthony Burgess
When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me, ‘Did you sleep good?’
I said, ‘No, I made a few mistakes.’
~ Steven Wright
This is a film for these frenetic times; a meditative respite from the rush and chaos of the modern world.
A study of the universal experience of sleep, that unites us all.
~ IMDb
vinylconnection.com.au 
Cool, I have The Blue Notebooks and I like it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s one I’m yet to check out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A ‘highlights’ package? Oh man (sighed).
zzzz
LikeLiked by 1 person
Should be a ‘Nite-lights’ package, eh?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I found ‘From Sleep’ on YouTube and, twenty-five plus minutes in, I’m impressed – very impressed.
Less impressive is the Ad blitz at the start and between movements. They risk a gutral rebuttal from me (for their insightless insensitivity) but, worse for them, the remote control is now being used as a conducting baton.
A presumed insomniac has also posted Sleep, with the lot, and it is on standby should somnambulance demand it later on.
I’d heard of Sleep, of course, but had never been tempted to listen, so thanks as ever for your posts and kind regards
DD
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s cool, DD. I’d had the ‘From Sleep’ version for a while and ‘quite liked’ it. But the entire thing is pretty amazing. I hope it brings you fertile and nourishing dreams.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Richter, I think he’s an utter genius-type dude. The idea of going to ‘see’ a full performance of this would be a real bucket list thing for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did you see the documentary, Joe? The live settings looked amazing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No I wasn’t aware of it, there was a performance in a cathedral, equipped with beds. That sounds like paradise to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed. And the one in L.A. was an outdoor summer affair. Looked gorgeous. Oddly, the one at the Sydney Opera House looked a bit cramped and uncomfortable. Not open enough, I guess.
LikeLiked by 1 person