I’ve been familiar with Max Richter’s music for a while. He’s a German-born British composer and musician, and he seems to be classified as ‘contemporary classical’. His work appears in quite a few soundtracks, and I think I first became aware of him from his “On the Nature of Daylight” which was used in the movie “Arrival”. It’s a stunning piece: so emotional and beautiful.
One of my reiki clients was going to see a documentary after her treatment, and it happened to be Max Richter’s Sleep, a documentary about his 8.5 hour composition, played in a number of locations around the world, including at the Sydney Opera House, which we missed!
It really is an interesting idea: an antidote, he says, to the fast-pace of modern life, and I would add to short attention spans. He invites the audience to gather and … sleep during the performance. Or watch, or do yoga or get up and wander around but the option is there for the audience to curl up, in a communal space, on cots or temporary bedding and drift in and out of sleep and attention.
It’s a fascinating idea really and I think quite a magnificent experiment. He researched sleep and tried to mimic in his music the tones and rhythms of how we sleep, introducing the sound wavelengths of being awake close to the end.
I find it perfect music for reiki: it’s quiet and soothing, beautiful and never jarring with a sudden loud part or change of pace. That’s what I look for in the music I play during my treatments. So if you come for a reiki treatment in the next period, this may be the music that I’ll be playing! And if you’re interested, you should check out the music in any case: it’s easily found on Spotify and elsewhere.