Max Richter short film starring Elisabeth Moss

In anticipation of the reissue of his pioneering work, THE BLUE NOTEBOOKS – originally released in 2004, and now re-released by Deutsche Grammophon with several bonus tracks and a Super Deluxe edition due on June 29 – DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON has announced details of a short film to accompany, “On The Nature Of Daylight”.

Filmed in Toronto, Canada in March, 2018 by director George Belfield, with Steve Annis as Director of Photography, the six-and-a-half minute short stars Elisabeth Moss, a recent winner of, among other prizes, Golden Globe and Emmy Awards as Executive Producer of and Lead Actress in The Handmaid’s Tale. Moss – who calls herself Richter’s “biggest fan”– also produced the film, alongside Richter’s creative partner Yulia Mahr, Stefan Demetriou, Tarquin Glass and Max Brook.

The film, a Somesuch and Globe Productions co-production, is a response to themes raised by Richter’s original composition, which he’s described as “a meditation on violence and its repercussions, inspired both by the Iraq war – which was looming – and my own experiences.” He talks in the reissue’s liner notes of how, as “a very sensitive child, I reacted to the violence around me by internalising everything. I closed all the shutters, built up walls, became as perfect as I could be.”

“When I was asked to do this project,” Moss reveals of her decision to participate in the film despite her currently hectic schedule, “it was a dream come true. My work has been inspired by his music for so many years and not a day goes by on set where I don’t have Max’s music playing in my ears before a take. His music and my acting have gone hand in hand for a long time. So for me the opportunity to act to one of his most prolific pieces was such an incredible honor. Working with George and this entire team was so artistically fulfilling and an experience I will never forget.”

“Lizzie perfectly understood what I was trying to communicate,” director Belfield says, “abrought a lot more to the role besides. She and I spent a lot of time developing her character together before the shoot, building her backstory and writing inner monologues for what she would be feeling at different points of her journey. Despite being incredibly busy on The Handmaid’s Tale and her upcoming feature projects, she invested a lot of herself into her character. It was amazing to work with her.

It was very important to me,” Belfield continues, “to try and be faithful to Max’s music, the worldview that it carries, and where he is coming from as an artist. It’s been the kind of project that has led to intimate, emotional and honest discussions about who we are and where we fit in to the world, and working with Max and Yulia has been both illuminating and rewarding. We all wanted to make something that connects with people in a compassionate way, invites us to share the human experience, and remains true to the fundamental empathy of this piece of music.”

OVERNIGHT ANTWERP CATHEDRAL CONCERT ON SEPTEMBER 7

After performances in Berlin and Paris among others, Max Richter will be performing his night-time composition “Sleep” in Antwerp’s Cathedral.

Richter calls his work “my personal lullaby for a world that’s gone crazy”. Inspired by Bach’s Goldberg variations, the British post-minimalist composer succeeds in moving audiences around the world with “Sleep”. Experience the magical power of the sounds of the piano, the strings and electronic instruments, as you slumber on a camp bed. Meditative variations are an invitation to take your time and live a slower life in today’s hectic society. The emptiness of night and the warm harmonious sound combine into a heavenly haven for the body and soul. With this concert, Richter also wants to understand the effect of music on sleeping people.

Richter performs this work just once in every country. This is the first time that it will be performed in a church. Thanks to Rubens and the many Baroque masterpieces, the late-Gothic cathedral exudes an overall sense of transcendence, designed to lift people of out of their ordinary lives and transport them to the higher realm of the divine. The concert will take place on September 7th . It will start at midnight and end at 8 a.m. on September 8th. The start of the ticket sales will soon be published