image source, john cage organ project
The piece is played on a specially built mechanical organ in a German church.
The longest and slowest musical work in existence had a big day on Monday. The code has changed for the first time in two years.
Crowds gathered at a church in Germany to witness a rare moment that was part of an artistic feat by avant-garde composer John Cage.
This experimental work, titled “As Slow as Possible,” began in 2001.
It will be played on a specially constructed organ, and is not scheduled to end until 2640.
That was 616 years ago. Looking at that era from another direction, the Renaissance was beginning to roar in Europe.
The song, fully titled Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible), features 16 chord changes.
At the Bruchardi Church in the German town of Halberstadt, volunteers created a new sound by adding an extra pipe to a mechanical organ.
The composition was officially started in 2001, but after an 18-month hiatus, the first notes rang out in 2003.
Some people reportedly booked tickets years in advance to experience Monday’s code change.
The score consists of eight pages of music and is designed to be played on piano or organ. The instructions in the title to play the song as slowly as possible were clear, but the exact tempo was not specified.
last time The code changed exactly two years ago on February 5, 2022. According to the project’s website, the next scheduled change is scheduled for August 5, 2026.
In contrast to today’s grand scale performances, the 1987 premiere lasted just under 30 minutes. However, subsequent performances, including a 2009 performance by organist Diane Lucies, lasted 14 hours and 56 minutes.
This flow, many The longer performance arose from a meeting of musicians and philosophers after Cage’s death.
For practical reasons, mechanical organs were designed to use electronic wind generators to force air through pipes, causing sandbags to press against keys and produce a drone-like sound.
American composer John Cage, who died in 1992, was at the forefront of 20th century experimental and avant-garde music.
His most famous work, 4 minutes 33 seconds, was designed to be played by any combination of instruments, although musicians were instructed not to play them.
Instead, listeners hear the sounds of their surrounding environment for the four minutes and 33 seconds that the piece lasts.
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From 2020: Music fans gather in church to hear chord changes in a song that was supposed to last 639 years.