Composer Max Richter has recorded an 8-hour composition called Sleep, which is intended to be, as the composer says, “actually and genuinely intended to send the listener to sleep.” It’s a long lullaby, designed to sleep through.
At least that’s the hook to get people talking about it. It’s actually an attractive ambient composition for piano, strings, electronics, and vocals.
I haven’t heard the full version yet; you can get the one-hour version on CD (Amazon.com, Amazon UK), or stream it on Apple Music, and it’s very nice.
But if you want the full version, you can get that too, but only by download from the iTunes Store. It’s $35, which is a fair price for an 8+ hour piece of music.
At that length, it might be a bit redundant, but I’m a sucker for long works of music, such as the many long works by Morton Feldman, or piano works like the 4-hour November, by Dennis Johnson. So the idea of a long work intrigues me. Note that it’s not one single uninterrupted piece; it’s a number of short pieces that run together. So you may not like it all, but there may be a lot that you do enjoy.
In any case, if you want a nice, long recording of ambient music, check out Sleep.
The price in ‘my’ iTunes Store is CHF 50.00, i.e., more than USD 50 … 🙁
https://twitter.com/martinsteiger/status/640060172346523648
Ouch. Even with VAT, it shouldn’t be much more than, what, around CHF 42?
It’s the record labels that choose the pricing, not Apple.
I don’t blame Apple. VAT would be 8.0 %, by the way. I had no idea that prices for the same digital product could be that different in the iTunes Store.
USD 35 is around CHF 34, so with VAT it would be around CHF 37.
Also interesting: The 8-hour version seems to be an iTunes exclusive?!
I have meanwhile purchased the short version. Thanks for mentioning the release, I would have missed it without your blog.
Yes, even the DG website only links to iTunes for this release.
The price in ‘my’ iTunes Store is CHF 50.00, i.e., more than USD 50 … 🙁
https://twitter.com/martinsteiger/status/640060172346523648
Ouch. Even with VAT, it shouldn’t be much more than, what, around CHF 42?
It’s the record labels that choose the pricing, not Apple.
I don’t blame Apple. VAT would be 8.0 %, by the way. I had no idea that prices for the same digital product could be that different in the iTunes Store.
USD 35 is around CHF 34, so with VAT it would be around CHF 37.
Also interesting: The 8-hour version seems to be an iTunes exclusive?!
I have meanwhile purchased the short version. Thanks for mentioning the release, I would have missed it without your blog.
Yes, even the DG website only links to iTunes for this release.