The longest concert ever has reached its 6th note!
By tyler on Aug 12, 2008 in Aerophones, Experimental, Performances, Public
The slowest piece of music ever is currently being played in the church of St. Burchardi in Halberstadt, Germany. John Cage’s project is called ORGAN2/ASLSP (for ‘as slow as possible’). It began in 2000 and has just reached it’s sixth note! The next musical change is said to happen in November, 2008.
The project is funded by donations which pay for new pipes when a new note is coming up in the sequence. The smallest unit on the staves is one month, each change in tone taking place on the fifth day of the corresponding month. The instrument is powered by a “machine.”
This is the current note:
http://www.john-cage.halberstadt.de/new/ton07.mp3
“Neighbors have got used to the monotonous tone coming out of the former Church of St. Burchard, which was used as a pig-sty in the communist years of East Germany. At first the all-day-and-night tone sounded something like an air-raid siren.”
Hang in there guys, only 19,914,776,375 seconds left!
To read more about the project and why John Cage picked 639 years, visit the ORGAN2/ASLSP website.
From: PattiS | Aug 13, 2008 | Reply
I absolutely love this idea! But, the neighbors can hear it? Not from their homes, I hope?
From: Lorien Shaw | Aug 17, 2008 | Reply
I wonder, given the pace of this piece, what effect it has on surrounding vegetation, specifically trees (because of their slower growth rate)? Have their growth patterns changed at all in response? Interesting questions the idea of vastly slower-than-usual music brings to mind.
From: Ryan | Aug 21, 2008 | Reply
It’s a nice idea, but this is not the longest performance. There is a program being broadcast from a lighthouse, called Longplayer, which began in 2000 and will reach the end of its musical rotation in the year 3000.
Not to mention that it is infinitely more tonally interesting than this single-note-at-a-time performance.
From: tyler | Aug 21, 2008 | Reply
Fascinating, thanks Ryan!
From: EMILY!!! | Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
WOW that is so kool!!!AKA cool!!!
From: ConsiderThis | Sep 20, 2008 | Reply
I was told Cage once got many people in San Francisco to turn their lights on and off in time to a piece of music. I can’t find verification on the web. Does anyone visiting here happen to know? And, do you know if Cage ever lived on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco?