5 February 2024Image source, John Cage Organ ProjectImage caption, The piece plays on a specially constructed mechanical organ in a church in GermanyThe longest and slowest composition in history reached a significant milestone on Monday as it changed its chord for the first time in two years. Spectators gathered at a church in Germany to witness this exceptional moment, constituting part of an artistic endeavor by avant-garde composer John Cage. Titled As Slow as Possible, this experimental piece commenced in 2001 and is performed on a specially designed organ set to conclude its performance by the year 2640 – a staggering 616 years from now. To put this time frame into context, the European Renaissance was starting to take shape in the opposite direction. The full title of the composition is Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible) and it has undergone 16 chord changes to date. Volunteers recently added a new pipe to the mechanical organ in the Burchardi Church in the German town of Halberstadt to produce the new sound. Although the official commencement of the piece was in 2001, it started with 18 months of silence and the first notes were only heard in 2003. Several individuals reportedly secured tickets years in advance to witness Monday’s chord change. The score consists of eight pages of music intended for either piano or organ. While the directive in the title is to play the piece as slowly as possible, no specific tempo was ever specified. The chord was last changed exactly two years ago on 5 February 2022, and the next scheduled change will take place on 5 August 2026 according to the project’s website. In contrast to this grand long-term performance, the premiere of the piece in 1987 lasted just under 30 minutes. However, subsequent performances, including one in 2009 by organist Diane Luchese, lasted 14 hours and 56 minutes. This extended rendition stemmed from a meeting of musicians and philosophers following Cage’s death. For practical considerations, the mechanical organ was developed using an electronic wind machine to deliver air into the pipes, while sandbags are employed to depress the keys and generate the drone-like sound. American composer John Cage, who passed away in 1992, was a leading figure in 20th-century experimental and avant-garde music. His most famous piece, 4’33”, is intended to be performed using any combination of instruments, with musicians instructed not to play. Instead, listeners experience the sounds of their environment during the four minutes and 33 seconds duration of the piece.You may also be interested in: Video caption, From 2020: Music fans gather in a church to hear a chord change in a composition meant to last 639 years
