Max Richter / The Blue Notebooks
Artist Max Richter
Album Title: The Blue Notebooks
Album Cover:
Primary Genre Electronic
Format CD (2)
Released 05/25/2018
Label Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog No 483 5668
Bar Code No 0 28948 35668 3
Packaging Jewelcase
Tracks
The Blue Notebooks (Disc 1)
1. The Blue Notebooks (1:20)
2. On The Nature Of Daylight (6:12)
3. Horizon Variations (1:53)
4. Shadow Journal (8:23)
5. Iconography (3:39)
6. Vladimir's Blues (1:19)
7. Arboretum (2:54)
8. Old Song (2:11)
9. Organum (3:13)
10. The Trees (7:53)
11. Written On The Sky (1:40)
The Blue Notebooks (Disc 2)
1. A Catalogue Of Afternoons (1:51)
2. On The Nature of Daylight (Orchestral Version) (6:36)
3. Vladimir's Blues 2018 (1:30)
4. On The Nature Of Daylight (Entropy) (6:54)
5. Vladimir's Blues (Jlin Remix) (3:45)
6. Iconography (Konx-Om-Pax Remix) (3:57)
7. This Bitter Earth / On The Nature Of Daylight (6:13)
Date Acquired 01/25/2022
Personal Rating
Acquired from How_Are_You (Discogs)
Purchase Price 24.24

Web Links

All Music Guide Entry:
Discogs entry:
MusicBrainz entry: (Close but not exact)

Notes

Notes:
Issued in a brilliant box double jewel case with a transparent tray and with a 16-page booklet.

Recorded in 2003 (CD 1, CD 2: 2-5, 2-6).
Recorded at Scoring Stage, Babelsberg, in 2010 (CD 2-2)
and at Air Studios, London, on 9 January 2018 (CD 2: 2-1, 2-3, 2-4)

"This Bitter Earth" (track 2-7) published by Third Side Music Inc.
Published by Mute Song Ltd (tracks 1-1 to 1-5, 1-8 to 1-11, 2-2, 2-6 & 2-7); Mute Song International Ltd (track 1-7); Decca Publishing (track 2-1); Mute Song (tracks 2-3 & 2-4), Copyright Control (tracks 1-6 & 2-5).

℗ 2004 (CD 1), 2014 (CD 2: 2-2), 2018 (CD 2: 2-1, 2-3 to 2-6) Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin
℗ 2018 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin / 1959 The Verve Music Group (CD 2: 2-7)
This compilation ℗ 2018 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH.
Printed in the EU

Credits:
Art Direction – Studio Marek Polewski
Artwork – Alex Torrance
Artwork, Booklet Editor – WLP Ltd.
Cello – Chris Worsey (tracks: 1-2, 1-4, 1-7, 1-10, 2-4, 2-7), Ian Burdge (tracks: 2-4), Philip Sheppard (tracks: 1-2, 1-4, 1-7, 1-10, 2-7)
Composed By – Max Richter (tracks: 1-1 to 1-11, 2-1 to 2-6)
Conductor – Lorenz Dangel (tracks: 2-2)
Coordinator [Product Coordinator Deutsche Grammophon] – Simão Capitão
Coordinator [Product Coordinator Studio Richter Mahr] – Rebecca Drake-Brockman
Electronics – Max Richter (tracks: 1-1, 1-3 to 1-5, 1-7 to 1-10, 2-6)
Engineer [Pro Tools Engineer] – Tom Bailey (tracks: 2-1, 2-3, 2-4)
Executive-Producer [Executive Producer Deutsche Grammophon] – Christian Badzura
Executive-Producer [Executive Producer Studio Richter Mahr] – Yulia Mahr
Layout – Erkin Karamemet
Liner Notes – Wyndham Wallace
Management [Artist Management] – Steve Abbott
Mastered By – Götz-Michael Rieth (tracks: 2-5, 2-6), Mandy Parnell (tracks: 1-1 to 1-11)
Mixed By – Max Richter (tracks: 1-1 to 2-1, 2-3), Robbie Robertson (tracks: 2-7), Rupert Coulson (tracks: 2-1, 2-3, 2-4)
Orchestra – Max Richter Orchestra* (tracks: 2-2)
Photography By – Paul Spencer (6)
Photography By [Cover Photo] – Peter Langer (3)
Photography By [Photos] – Heiko Prigge
Piano – Max Richter (tracks: 1-1, 1-3, 1-6, 1-8, 1-10, 1-11, 2-1, 2-3 to 2-5)
Producer – Max Richter
Product Manager [Product Management] – Nanja Maung Yin
Recorded By – Philip Bagenal (tracks: 1-1 to 1-11, 2-5, 2-6), Rupert Coulson (tracks: 2-1, 2-3, 2-4), Steve Parr (tracks: 1-1, 1-3 to 1-11, 2-5, 2-6)
Viola – John Metcalfe (tracks: 1-2, 1-4, 1-7, 1-10, 2-4, 2-7)
Violin – Louisa Fuller (tracks: 1-2, 1-4, 1-7, 1-10, 2-4, 2-7), Natalia Bonner (tracks: 1-2, 1-4, 1-7, 1-10, 2-4, 2-7)
Vocals – Dinah Washington (tracks: 2-7)
Voice [Reader] – Tilda Swinton (tracks: 1-1, 1-4, 1-7, 1-8, 1-10)
Written-By – Clyde Otis (tracks: 2-7), Max Richter (tracks: 2-7)

Companies:
Record Company – Universal Music Polska Sp. z o.o.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Deutsche Grammophon GmbH
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Verve Music Group
Recorded At – Scoring Stage Babelsberg
Recorded At – Air Lyndhurst Studios
Published By – Mute Song Ltd.
Published By – Mute Song International Limited
Published By – Decca Publishing
Published By – Mute Song
Published By – Copyright Control
Published By – Third Side Music Ltd.
Made By – www.takt.eu
Glass Mastered at – TAKT – 2100007637174
Glass Mastered at – TAKT – 2100007637211

Barcode and Other Identifiers:
Barcode (Printed): 0 28948 35668 3
Barcode (Scanned): 028948356683
Label Code: LC 0173
Rights Society: BIEM/SDRM
SPARS CODE: DDD
Other (CD1 catalog number): 00289 483 5669
Other (CD2 catalog number): 00289 483 5670
Matrix / Runout (CD1): www.takt.eu [TAKT logo] 2100007637174 [TAKT logo]
Mastering SID Code (CD1): IFPI LK97
Mould SID Code (CD1): IFPI UU076
Matrix / Runout (CD2): www.takt.eu [TAKT logo] 2100007637211 [TAKT logo]
Mastering SID Code (CD2): IFPI LK97
Mould SID Code (CD2): IFPI UU076

Dynamic Range Info:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed Folder: Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks, Disc 1_dr.txt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR       Peak        RMS     Filename                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR15   -8.28 dB   -27.61 dB  01 - The Blue Notebooks.aif  
DR09   -0.00 dB   -12.37 dB  02 - On The Nature Of Daylight.aif
DR10   -0.47 dB   -14.98 dB  03 - Horizon Variations.aif  
DR07   -0.00 dB   -12.07 dB  04 - Shadow Journal.aif      
DR10   -0.00 dB   -13.69 dB  05 - Iconography.aif          
DR11   -0.30 dB   -15.12 dB  06 - Vladimir's Blues.aif    
DR12   -4.34 dB   -20.59 dB  07 - Arboretum.aif            
DR11 -10.69 dB   -27.86 dB  08 - Old Song.aif            
DR07   -3.03 dB   -13.10 dB  09 - Organum.aif              
DR09   -0.00 dB   -13.66 dB  10 - The Trees.aif            
DR11   -6.94 dB   -21.43 dB  11 - Written On The Sky.aif  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Files: 11
Official DR Value: DR10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed Folder: Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks, Disc 2_dr.txt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR       Peak        RMS     Filename                        
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR10   -5.98 dB   -19.55 dB  01 - A Catalogue Of Afternoons.aif
DR10   -0.12 dB   -14.52 dB  02 - On the Nature of Daylight.aif
DR10   -3.45 dB   -18.45 dB  03 - Vladimir's Blues 2018.aif
DR10   -0.64 dB   -13.99 dB  04 - On The Nature Of Daylight (Entropy).aif
DR08   -0.78 dB     -9.70 dB  05 - Vladimir's Blues (Jlin remix).aif
DR05   -0.00 dB     -7.63 dB  06 - Iconography (Konx-Om-Pax Remix).aif
DR10  +0.00 dB   -13.77 dB  07 - This Bitter Earth - On the Nature of Daylight.aif
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Files: 7
Official DR Value: DR9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reviews
Review by Heather Phares:

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.


Cover 1
Cover 2
Cover 3
Cover 4
Cover 5
Cover 6
Cover 7
Cover 8
Cover 9