This organ will play one composition until 2640. It’s redefining how slowly music can be played
HALBERSTADT, Germany (AP) — A small organ in eastern Germany is the headliner of the world’s slowest concert. It has been playing the same piece of music by composer John Cage at a glacial pace for…
The John Cage Organ Project in Halberstadt, Germany has been executing a groundbreaking musical endeavor for nearly 25 years, playing the same composition by avant-garde composer John Cage at an incredibly slow pace. Beginning on September 5, 2001, the performance commenced with a silent pause that lasted until February 5, 2003, when the first notes resonated within the medieval Burchardi Church.
The composition, titled "ORGAN²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible)," will conclude on September 4, 2640, marking the completion of approximately 4% of the 639-year journey.
The organ's electric-powered blower system sends wind into the pipes to generate a continuous sound. Manual chord changes, performed by adding new notes or ending existing ones, characterize the evolving musical landscape. Jeffrey Lependorf, executive director of the John Cage Trust in New York, expressed anticipation for the discernible differences between the sounds before and after the recent chord change, noting that the resonance of the music is "incredible."
Cage, an American composer born in Los Angeles in 1912 and passing away in New York in 1992, provided only the direction to play the composition as slowly and softly as possible. The interpretation in Halberstadt has resulted in the smallest unit of time being one month long, with other units and silences lasting for years.
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