Radio Three to broadcast Max Richter’s Sleep during eight-hour lockdown lullaby
Millions of people across Europe will be able to tune into an eight-hour lockdown lullaby on Radio Three.
The station has teamed up with the European Broadcasting Union for a continent-wide performance of Max Richter’s work Sleep.
Recorded five years ago at the Wellcome Collection, the audience for the original show were encouraged to lie on beds and sleep through the music.
The performance, which starts at 11pm on Saturday April 11, will reach listeners in more than 70 countries.
Richter said: “Five years ago I wrote Sleep as an invitation to pause our busy lives for a moment. Now we are all facing an unexpected and involuntary pause.
“It is far from easy to adjust to this new normal, which shifts continuously, and brings anxiety and suffering to those we love and to ourselves.
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“At such times the magical ability of creativity to elevate our days and to connect us is more important than ever, and I’m really happy that the EBU allows us to listen all together across the whole of Europe. Please enjoy this eight-hour place to rest.”
The broadcast is part of the classical music strand of the BBC’s Culture in Quarantine season.
It also includes a virtual reality choir where none of the singers will meet and a series of sessions with performers including cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who played at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, performing from home.
