1.    "The Blue Notebooks"
2.    "On the Nature of Daylight"
3.    "Horizon Variations"
4.    "Shadow Journal"
5.    "Iconography"
6.    "Vladimir's Blues"
7.    "Arboretum"
8.    "Old Song"
9.    "Organum"
10.    "The Trees"
11.    "Written on the Sky"

Though his evocative debut album Memoryhouse introduced Max Richter's fusion of classical music, electronica and found-sounds (a style he calls "post-Classical"), it's his follow-up, The Blue Notebooks, that really showcases the style's -- and Richter's -- potential. The album's ten pieces were inspired by Kafka's Blue Octavo Notebooks, and quotes such as "Everyone carries a room about inside them. This fact can even be proved by means of the sense of hearing. If someone walks fast and one pricks up one's ears and listens, say at night, when everything round about is quiet, one hears, for instance, the rattling of a mirror not quite firmly fastened to the wall," which are read by actress Tilda Swinton, define the spare, reflective intimacy of The Blue Notebooks. The album is simpler than Memoryhouse, with a smaller ensemble of musicians playing on it and a shorter running time, but its restraint makes it a more powerful work -- it's so beautiful and fully realized that it doesn't need to be showy.

As other reviews have mentioned, Richter tends to be a more traditional-minded composer than influences like Brian Eno, Philip Glass and Steve Reich. However, his sound works so well and seems so natural because he's not trying to be overtly experimental; the album ranges from pieces with little or no electronic elements, such as the piano-driven "Arboretum," to "Old Song," which is based on a busy, chilly beat that sounds like dripping water. Richter's music embraces all of the sounds that had an impact on him, but more important is the emotional impact that The Blue Notebooks has on its listeners; despite its high-concept origins, it's quite an affecting album. The warm-hearted piano melody on "Horizon Variations" and the delicate, somehow reassuring-sounding string piece "On the Nature of Daylight" both sound vaguely familiar, and are all the more haunting for it. Most striking of all is "Shadow Journal," which begins with hypnotic, bubbling electronics, Swinton's crisp voice and a piercingly lovely violin melody and then brings in harp and an electronic bassline so low that it's almost felt more than it is heard. The piece sounds so much like thinking, like turning inward, that the cawing birds at the end of the track bring a jarring end to its reverie.

The field recordings that run through The Blue Notebooks heighten the sense of intimacy, and occasionally, eavesdropping. On "Organum," the distant piano and outdoor sounds feel like listening to somebody else listen to the music; meanwhile, the ticking clocks, clacking typewriter and street traffic on the title track help conjure up that room that everyone carries about inside them. The Blue Notebooks is a stunning album, and one that should be heard not just by classical and electronica fans, but anyone who values thoughtful, subtly expressive music. ---Heather Phares, Rovi

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Mrs Dalloway
1. Words
2. In the Garden
3. War Anthem
4. Meeting Again
Orlando
5. Memory is the Seamstress
6. Modular Astronomy
7. Entropy
8. Transformation
9. Morphology
10. The Tyranny of Symmetry
11. The Explorers
12. Persistence of Images
13. Genesis of Poetry
14. Possibles
15. Love Songs
The Waves
16. Tuesday

Gillian Anderson - Narrator
Natalia Bonner - Violin
Ian Burdge - Cello
Grace Davidson - Soprano (Vocal)
Louisa Fuller - Violin
Hilá Karni - Cello
John Metcalfe - Viola
Max Richter - Piano, Synthesizer
Mari Samuelsen 	Violin
Sarah Sutcliffe 	Narrator
Virginia Woolf 	Narrator
Chris Worsey 	Cello

Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg
Robert Ziegler - Conductor 

German-British composer Max Richter has been known mostly for his film scores. One of the best of them, that for Arrival, was heard by millions of people and was ideally timed to attract listeners to some of Richter's non-cinematic music. Three Worlds -- Music from Woolf Works was abridged from a ballet entitled Woolf Works, which consisted mostly of short chunks that work reasonably well in abstract form. Each of the work's three sections begins with a spoken quotation from Virginia Woolf herself, the first of them consisting of an actual recording of Woolf's voice from 1937; the other two are read by actresses. The rest of the movements are instrumental and are connected to a greater or lesser degree to the three novels named in the titles of the three sections, Mrs Dalloway, Orlando, and The Waves. Only the Woolf quotation for Orlando comes from the novel named in its section title. The music in that section consists of a set of variations on the Baroque-era-ground La Folia, and the medium is constantly shifting: from full orchestra to chamber instruments, solo groups, and electronic variations (the music is performed by Richter himself on piano and synthesizer, plus the Deutches Filmorchester Babelsberg and assorted other musicians). You wouldn't guess Virginia Woolf if you heard it cold, but the music is not quite like anything else you will have heard. The final section, by contrast, has a powerfully direct emotional impact. The opening reading, spoken by Gillian Anderson, is taken from Woolf's suicide note, and although Richter indicates that the rest of the music evokes the poetic mood of The Waves, its intense climax (unlike the rest of the music, this is a lengthy movement of more than 20 minutes) seems to keep the suicide note in the listener's mind. Although the work as a whole is not a film score, it has the flavor of one, and it opens up intriguing possibilities for the expansion of that language to other settings. Certainly recommended for anyone who has noticed and liked the music for Arrival. ---James Manheim, AllMusic Review

„ Woolf Works” to znakomicie przyjęty przez krytykę tryptyk baletowy z choreografią McGregora, inspirowany życiem i twórczością angielskiej powieściopisarki Wirginii Woolf.

“Three Worlds: Music from Wolf Works” to nowy rozdział na muzycznej drodze kompozytorskiej Maxa Richtera. Ukazuje zamiłowanie kompozytora zarówno do bogatych melodii na smyczki i fortepian jak i jego wirtuozowskie władanie elektroniką. W utworze otwierającym album pojawia się wypowiedź samej Virginii Woolf czytającej esej : “Craftsmanship” (Rzemiosło) utrwalona na nagraniu BBC z 1937 roku.

Oryginalny balet spotkał się z niezwykle pozytywnym przyjęciem krytyki podczas premiery w 2015 r., otrzymując Critics’ Circle Award w kategorii najlepszej choreografii oraz Olivier Award za najlepszą produkcję baletową.

The Observer opisał ten balet jako “przekonujące i wzruszające wydarzenie”, a według The Independent jest to “ pełne ambicji, wspaniałe, przemyślane dzieło”, The Guardian określił balet jako “poruszającą medytację dotyczącą pamięci, szaleństwa i życia”.

Każdy z trzech aktów baletu nawiązuje do jednej z kluczowych powieści Woolf: Mrs Dalloway, Orlando oraz the Waves, połączonych z fragmentami jej listów, esejów i pamiętników.

McGregor i Richter często współpracowali ze sobą, między innymi przy takich uznanych produkcjach jak: Rain Rooms czy Sum. McGregor stworzył również baletową wersję słynnych albumów Maxa jak Vivaldi Recomposed czy Infra.

Album jest 66 minutową wersją całej produkcji trwającej 110 minut. ---universalmusic.pl

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1 	Infra 1 	4:05
2 	Journey 1 	2:10
3 	Infra 2 	4:27
4 	Infra 3 	3:02
5 	Journey 2 	2:13
6 	Infra 4 	2:46
7 	Journey 3 	2:51
8 	Journey 4 	4:40
9 	Journey 5 	1:13
10 	Infra 5 	5:17
11 	Infra 6 	2:53
12 	Infra 7 	1:45
13 	Infra 8 	3:22

Cello – Chris Worsey, Ian Burdge
Mixed By – Max Richter
Piano, Electronics – Max Richter
Viola – Nick Barr
Violin – Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner

Once upon a time, rock‘n’roll was for the kids. Parents recoiled at its immoral noise, clutching Perry Como records to their chests as their children rolled their eyes. For years the generations were separated: teenagers craved guitars, elders praised violins, youthful tastes discarded as newfound responsibilities demanded they behave like adults.

But slowly the boundaries came down: prog rock embraced the theories of formal musical training, contemporary classical music like Steve Reich’s was embraced by the rock avant-garde, musicians started to namecheck the likes of Henryk Gorecki and Arvo Pärt. Now, it seems, you’ve got every chance of finding what used to be termed classical music on your favourite indie label. 4AD have Jóhann Jóhannsson, Bella Union have Dustin O’Halloran, Erased Tapes have Ólafur Arnalds, and Fat Cat’s 130771 imprint has Max Richter. These days, of course, it’s considered experimental music, but that’s probably only within the realms of pop.

Of them all, Richter deserves the tag experimental more than most. A classically trained performer with a fondness for electronica, his fifth album is based upon 25 minutes of music commissioned by London’s Royal Ballet in 2008 and inspired by T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland. Opener infra 1 begins with radio static before slowly developing into what might pass for the introduction to a Sigur Rós song, and this in turn slides into journey 1, a piece of minimalist piano moonlight still haunted by static. infra 4 and journey 4, meanwhile, seem him employ the same ethic with strings instead of piano, and for infra’s 32-minute duration, Richter plays with echoing tones of ambiguous genesis and further found sounds over a platform of tremulous chamber music and placid piano sonata movements.

That it’s a companion piece makes perfect sense, and in truth it could work as a soundtrack to something like Duncan Jones’ recent film Moon or a documentary about a courageous battle against terminal illness. Like Arnalds and Jóhannsson, Richter is capable of eliciting profound emotions from the barest of foundations, and it’s perhaps this that makes their music of such interest to alternative music fans: it offers civilised respite from a mainstream whose colours have become too saturated and whose constructions are over familiar. Your parents might recoil at its alien textures, and your kids might still roll their eyes, but all that really suggests is that classical is the new rock‘n’roll. ---Wyndham Wallace, BBC Review

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CD1:
01 – All Human Beings – Pt. 1
02 – All Human Beings – Pt. 2
03 – All Human Beings – Pt. 3
04 – All Human Beings – Pt. 4
05 – Origins – Pt. 1
06 – Origins – Pt. 2
07 – Journey Piece – Pt. 1
08 – Journey Piece – Pt. 2
09 – Chorale – Pt. 1
10 – Chorale – Pt. 2
11 – Chorale – Pt. 3
12 – Chorale – Pt. 4
13 – Hypocognition – Pt. 1
14 – Prelude 6 – Pt. 1
15 – Prelude 6 – Pt. 2
16 – Murmuration – Pt. 1
17 – Murmuration – Pt. 2
18 – Murmuration – Pt. 3
19 – Cartography – Pt. 1
20 – Cartography – Pt. 2
21 – Cartography – Pt. 3
22 – Little Requiems – Pt. 1
23 – Little Requiems – Pt. 2
24 – Little Requiems – Pt. 3
25 – Mercy

CD2:
01 – All Human Beings (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
02 – All Human Beings (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 2
03 – All Human Beings (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 3
04 – All Human Beings (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 4
05 – Origins (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
06 – Origins (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 2
07 – Journey Piece (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
08 – Journey Piece (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 2
09 – Chorale (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
10 – Chorale (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 2
11 – Chorale (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 3
12 – Chorale (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 4
13 – Hypocognition (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
14 – Prelude 6 (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
15 – Prelude 6 (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 2
16 – Murmuration (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
17 – Murmuration (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 2
18 – Murmuration (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 3
19 – Cartography (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
20 – Cartography (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 2
21 – Cartography (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 3
22 – Little Requiems (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 1
23 – Little Requiems (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 2
24 – Little Requiems (Voiceless Mix) – Pt. 3
25 – Mercy (Voiceless Mix) 

Alto Vocals – Amy Blythe, Elisabeth Paul, Lizzie Drury, Hannah Cooke, Martha McLorinan, Sophie Overin
Cello – Ashok Klouda, Ayako Halder, Chris Worsey, Chris Allan, Dave Daniels, Davina Shum, George Hoult,
 Heeyeon Cho, Helen Rathbone, Ivan Hussey, James Douglas, Jess Cox, Katherine Jenkinson, Lydia Dobson,
  Madeleine Ridd, Nick Cooper, Paul Kegg, Rachael Lander, Samantha Ginsberg, Sara Hajir, Sophie Harris, Tony Willard
Cello [Solo] – Ian Burdge
Conductor – Robert Ziegler
Double Bass – Andy Marshall, Beth Symmons, Beverley Jones, Jack Cherry, Laurence Ungless, Leon Bosch,
 Lucy Shaw, Martin Lüdenbach, Nicola Davenport, Rhian Porter, Richard Pryce, Roger Linley, Stacey Watson
Percussion – Joby Burgess
Piano, Organ, Synthesizer, Producer – Max Richter
Soprano Vocals – Emily Dickens, Hannah Ely, Isabella Gibber, Josephine Stephenson, Rachel Haworth, Victoria Meteyard
Soprano Vocals [Solo] – Grace Davidson
Viola – Bruce White, Clifton Harrison, Elisa Bergersen, Emma Sheppard, Nick Barr, Oak Lau, Rachel Robson, Reiad Chibah
Violin – Ani Batikian, Claire Kohda Hazelton, Daniel Bhattacharya, Elspeth MacLeod, Eva Thorarinsdottir,
 Everton Nelson, Gillon Cameron, Hazel Correa, Ian Humphries, Jamie Hutchinson, Juan González, Kotono Sato,
  Marianne Haynes, Nicolette Kuo, Oli Langford*, Preetha Narayana, Raja Halder, Richard George, Rick Koster,
   Samantha Wickramasinghe, Tom Pigott-Smith, Zara Benyounes
Violin [Solo] – Mari Samuelsen

Looking back on Max Richter’s career as a composer and his ability to make music centred around history, politics and literature, it’s easy to feel that he doesn’t really make albums about the everyday. Yet, new album Voices might be his most relatable and relevant album to date. It might take inspiration from another big subject, namely the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, but it also feels one of the most inclusive of his albums, shining light on various rights and freedoms that many may take for granted.

The album features readings of many of the articles contained within the Declaration set to Richter’s emotionally engaging orchestral score, showing that the combination of voice and orchestra that he has explored previously continues to serve him well. He explained more about the background to the piece in our recent interview but essentially Voices was born out of a feeling that the world was headed in a troubling direction and is Richter’s attempt to search for possible solutions, something he sees the Declaration offering. Voices is primarily a celebration of the Declaration and of the ability and aspiration of the human race to create it, although it’s tempered by a certain sadness at their inability to fully implement its contents.

American actress Kiki Layne is the main narrator on the album, but the other voices that drift in and out in the background in a variety of languages add a moving dimension. Layne’s readings are delivered in a clear, pinpoint and proud fashion. “All humans are born free and equal” begins her first reading. The piece then takes a journey across the Declaration, touching on other rights, before it ends movingly with “everyone has the right to education”, appropriate given Richter’s desire to focus on the piece’s potential to inform the future. Earlier, a child reading one of the rights among the crackly patchwork of other voices provides a similar stop-and-think moment.

The text might be the central focus but the music brings it alive. Richter chose to concentrate on the lower register of the orchestral spectrum, employing more cellos and double basses than usual but ultimately many of the hallmarks of his style are still recognisable; a focusing gravitas, sweeping passages, building strings and intimate piano. These instrumental sections are broken by the quiet drama of readings, and there are also times when wordless vocals float along, like birds flying through verdant woodland. The closing, searching track Mercy, offers a final chance for pause and reflection.

Like other moments in Richter’s history, Voices also feels like a celebration and validation of music itself – its capacity for profundity and to be a conduit for ideas. The world may be going through an unprecedented period of difficulty, but Voices is an album that will no doubt prove a worthy, supportive companion throughout. ---Steven Johnson, musicomh.com

Ponad dekadę od narodzin koncepcji kompozytor Max Richter prezentuje "Voices" – nowy przełomowy projekt inspirowany Powszechną Deklaracją Praw Człowieka. Album jest artystyczną odpowiedzią na skomplikowe czasy, w których żyjemy i stawia pytanie o siłę oraz jakość ludzkiego współczucia i empatii.

Max Richter zaprosił ludzi z całego świata, by współtworzyli to dzieło poprzez odczytanie Powszechnej Deklaracji Praw Człowieka, co zostało wplecione w nagranie w wykonaniu "odwróconej" orkiestry. Artysta otrzymał setki zgłoszeń w ponad 70 językach. Melorecytacje budują głosowy pejzaż, przez który płynie muzyka: są one tytułowymi GŁOSAMI.

Przy projekcie artysta współpracował z laureatką nagrody BAFTA Yulią Mahr, która stworzyła przejmujące video do dwóch pierwszych singli: "All Human Beings" i "Mercy" . Julia Mahr i Max Richter pracują razem od ponad 25 lat w domowym Studio Richter Mahr, a obrazy stworzone do "Voices" to przedsmak większgo projektu filmowego, który zaprezentowany będzie pod koniec roku.

Przyjęta przez Zgromadzenie Ogólne Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych w 1948 roku jako bezpośrednia reakcja na wydarzenia II wojny światowej, Powszechna Deklaracja Praw Człowieka została sporządzona przez grupę filozofów, artystów i myślicieli zwołanych przez Eleanor Roosevelt, by odpowiedzieć na fundamentalne pytania tamtych czasów.

Jej głos można usłyszeć na początku "Voices", we włączonym przez Richtera do utworu nagraniu preambuły Deklaracji z 1949 roku. Obok głosu Roosevelt oraz głosów zarejestrowanych przez publiczność z całego świata, pojawia się również narracja cenionej amerykańskiej aktorki Kiki Layne (znanej z filmu Gdyby ulica Beale umiała mówić), której wyrazisty tembr głosu uzupełnia chóralny, orkiestrowy i elektroniczny pejzaż dźwiękowy. ---audio.com.pl

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1		Psychogeography	6:53
2		Mirrors	2:36
3		Follower	5:03
4		Solitaries	4:49
5		Movement Study	5:48
6		Prelude 2	4:18
7		Colour Wheel	3:02
8		Origins (Solo)	4:08
9		Little Requiems (Cello Version)	7:35
10		Mercy Duet	4:26

Max Richter: keyboards, piano
+
Cello: Ashok Klouda, Ayako Halder, Chris Allan, Chris Worsey, Dave Daniels Davina Shum, George Hoult,
 Heeyeon Cho, Helen Rathbone, Ian Burdge, Ivan Hussey, James Douglas, Jess Cox, Katherine Jenkinson
Double Bass: Andy Marshall, Beth Symmons, Beverley Jones, Jack Cherry, Laurence Ungless, Leon Bosch
Harp: Camilla Pay
Viola: Bruce White, Clifton Harrison, Elisa Bergersen, Emma Sheppard
Violin: Mari Samuelsen, Ani Batikian, Claire Kohda Hazelton, Daniel Bhattacharya, Elspeth MacLeod,
 Eva Thorasrinsdottir, Everton Nelson, Gillon Cameron, Hazel Correa, Ian Humphries, Jamie Hutchinson,
  Juan Gonzalez, Kotono Sato
Harp: Camilla Pay 

The intention of Max Richter’s music is activism, but without pressure. He called Voices “a place to think” and “quiet protest”. Minus the spoken elements, Voices 2 is even more gently contemplative, offering a calm environment to ponder the ideas presented by the first work. This latest release is about hope for the future.

Much of the album is based on the original compositions in Voices, with the same musicians producing additional pieces and interpretations in lockdown, including Richter’s piano solos, recorded at Abbey Road. Purely instrumental this time, Voices 2 unearths variations on the tracks in the first record.

Introductory piece Psychogeography’s soft violins hum, as an angelic chorus emerges along with low-pitched strings, slowly becoming louder and more complex, undulating, then followed by a strong cello solo. The effect is of ecstatic ascent, like a magnificent sunrise, after which it grows softer, gradually fading.

With melancholy piano, Mirrors (also a lead single) gently, wistfully rises, conjuring images of sweeping vistas, a walk through a meadow, or a blossoming flower (as in the music video by Yulia Mahr), expressing the reawakening and renewal of spring. Again a seraphic chorus rises in Follower, as subsequent deep strings add gravity, descending into the abyss as the vocals rise and become louder. It could be interpreted as the co-existence of heaven and hell, or dark clouds engulfing a sunny landscape, then receding as the sun returns.

Solemn church-like organs in Solitaries strongly echo the original album’s sound, and blur the line between vocals and instruments. A heavy string section then rising chorals begin Monument Study, a weighty piece that evokes oppression and hardship – perhaps the gruelling voyages of migrants as they seek to escape torment and the ravages of war.

Low keyboard descends in Prelude 2, as a reflective, haunting, weeping viola expresses heartache and suffering, a gravity reminiscent of Bach’s most solemn concertos. As relief from the desolation, Colour Wheel is euphoric as chorus and strings, incorporating electronic sound, rise like a spaceship taking off.

Gorgeous piano played by Richter in Origins (Solo) flows like a magnificent river of resurrection and rebirth. It might be an enraptured journey around the globe through mountains, valleys, seas, rivers, forests and jungles. Cello rises while violins descend in the sombre Little Requiems (Cello Version), later dissolving to a hypnotic, soft buzz of instrumentals and chorus that slowly fades away. Finally Mercy Duet features only piano, but is a reflection of the original strings and piano version of Mercy on Voices. With a repetitive melody, this exquisite, pensive track is romantic and flows gently.

Voices is a complex, fascinating, superb album, and the outstanding Voices 2 is its meditative accompaniment – a purely musical extension, adding an extra element of thought to the whole. ---Catherine Sedgwick

Jak powiedział Max Richter, projekt jest aktualny. Muzyczne dzieło zainspirowane Powszechną Deklaracją Praw Człowieka ma swoją kontynuację. Jego pierwszej części mogliśmy posłuchać m.in. 10 grudnia, kiedy to "Voices" transmitowało 40 stacji radiowych na całym świecie. Odbyło się to w ramach obchodów Dnia Praw Człowieka Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych.

"Voices 2" stanowi bezpośrednią kontynuację pierwszej części tego nieustannie rozwijającego się przełomowego projektu, będącego ucieleśnieniem idei Powszechnej Deklaracji do zbudowania lepszego i bardziej sprawiedliwego świata.

Opisany przez Maxa Richtera jako "przestrzeń do namysłu" projekt Voices był odpowiedzią na burzliwy klimat polityczny i nieustającą potrzebę współczucia.

Podczas gdy pierwsza część projektu - "Voices" - kupia się na tekście Powszechnej Deklaracji Praw Człowieka i jej podnoszącym na duchu przekazie, "Voices 2" 2 otwiera medytacyjną przestrzeń muzyczną, by rozwinąć idee zaznaczone na pierwszej płycie. Przesłaniem najnowszej odsłony projektu VOICES jest nadzieja.

I tym razem w projekcie towrzyszyła Maxowi Richterowi Yulia Mahr, autorka poruszających wideoklipów do kilku utworów "All Human Beings", "Mercy" (Voices 1) i "Mirrors" (Voices 2). ---audio.com.pl

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