Max Richter is a renown and celebrated German-born British composer and pianist who works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter’s music has over one billion streams and one million album sales, with Sleep (2015) — an eight-and-a-half hour concept album based around the neuroscience of sleep— being ‘the most streamed classical record of all time.’

In the 2018 video below, director George Belfield provides an gritty and powerful portrayal of the delicate expansive subtly and excruciating depth of Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” (2004). The result is an artistic tour de force that touches on intimacy of sadness and the search for meaning in these dark times.

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Daylight is the combination of direct, scattered, and reflected solar radiation, forming a dynamic, broad-spectrum light source crucial for human health, biology, and ecosystems. It fluctuates in intensity and color, driving circadian rhythms and supporting photosynthesis. Unlike static electric light, natural daylight is essential for mental, physical, and visual well-being.

Daylight is not constant; its spectral power distribution, intensity (irradiance), and color change based on time of day, season, latitude, and weather. It comprises direct sunlight and indirect skylight (diffuse radiation).

Humans evolved under these natural cycles. Exposure to daylight regulates the sleep-wake cycle, improves mood, and increases alertness. The full spectrum of daylight aids in proper human circadian entrainment, which artificial light often disrupts. Beyond vision, natural light exposure also triggers vitamin D production, helps treat skin disorders, and releases endorphins in the skin.