In 2015, Max Richter released his most ambitious work, Sleep, an eight-hour lullaby that he himself described (there is also a shorter one-hour version of From Sleep by Deutsche Grammophon). From the classic sweet lullaby (Wiegenlied or lullaby) by Johannes Brahms to the nightmarish “Lullaby” of Medicine, Sleep, twin brother of Death, son of Night and father of Morpheus, god of dreams, leaves no one indifferent. “To think that sleep does not belong to us,” the poet Nikos Karousos asks fearfully in his famous poem “We have every right to sleep.”

In this spirit, conductor Simon-Pierre Bestion designed a musical project called Hypnos (original Hypnos) released by Alpha Classics. Working with two trebles, two altos, three tenors, three basses, bass clarinet and cornet, Bestion creates a sound palimpsest from pre-existing works, both pre-classical and contemporary, to compose an evocative, dreamy, contemplative, atmospheric picture. .

Working with two trebles, two altos, three tenors, three basses, bass clarinet and cornet, Simon-Pierre Bastion creates a sound palimpsest of existing works.

This type of “concept” album in modern classical discography has had a large circulation in recent years, especially on this label, although the gauge of the genre should perhaps be considered Jordi Saval, who, in addition to his beautiful interpretations using period instruments. , creates albums – documents often like blockbusters, such as an amazing version of the history and multicultural spirit of Venice.

We have something similar, but not as successful as the concept. Of course, the selections of works (or fragments of works) of Bastion, as well as the interpretations of his musicians, are excellent (as is the recording).

In fact, the album is a collection of religious works that have little to do with the theme of sleep. Chopin’s nocturnes, for example, could be part of such a project or Debussy, but Bastion is interested in a more metaphysical portrayal of our relationship with the subconscious.

The problem is not in the music, but in the title, in the whole concept of the album. Quite a few songs on the album seem to have a strong connection with the twin brother Sleep, Death: excerpts from the funeral services of the Roman Catholic Church or other events of the Roman Catholic Church, lamentations, as well as a song in memory of the Greek-born actress Athena Chariadis written in modern British composer John Tavener, which combines verses from the “Funeral Mass of the Orthodox Church” and “Hamlet” (the composer was baptized Orthodox).

In general, the Bastion “travels” from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, and then back to the Renaissance. He adheres to Renaissance Franco-Flemish polyphony, but he says he has chosen some modern composers for the sensibility with which they combine Eastern and Western spirituality. I mentioned the Cure’s “Lullaby” above: this creepy song has more to do with insomnia as a nightmare than sleep. So a project like “Hypnos” would be interesting, but on the subject of insomnia…