Second chord sounds in world's longest lasting concert

Yahoo ^ | 1/6/05

[Borges]

HALBERSTADT, Germany (AFP) - A new chord was scheduled to sound in the world's slowest and longest lasting concert that is taking a total 639 years to perform.

The abandoned Buchardi church in Halberstadt, eastern Germany, is the venue for a mind-boggling 639-year-long performance of a piece of music by US experimental composer John Cage (1912-1992).

Entitled "organ2/ASLSP" (or "As SLow aS Possible"), the performance began on September 5, 2001 and is scheduled to last until 2639.

The first year and half of the performance was total silence, with the first chord -- G-sharp, B and G-sharp -- not sounding until February 2, 2003.

Then in July 2004, two additional Es, an octave apart, were sounded and are scheduled to be released later this year on May 5.

But at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) on Thursday, the first chord was due to progress to a second -- comprising A, C and F-sharp -- and is to be held down over the next few years by weights on an organ being built especially for the project.

Cage originally conceived "ASLSP" in 1985 as a 20-minute work for piano, subsequently transcribing it for organ in 1987.

But organisers of the John Cage Organ Project decided to take the composer at his word and stretch out the performance for 639 years, using Cage's transcription for organ.

The enormous running time was chosen to commemorate the creation of Halberstadt's historic Blockwerk organ in 1361 -- 639 years before the current project started.

That original organ, built by Nikolaus Faber for Halberstadt's cathedral, was the first organ ever to be used for liturgical purposes, ringing in a new era in which the organ has played a central role in church music ever since.

As part of Halberstadt's John Cage Organ Project, a brand-new organ is being built specially, with new pipes added in time for when new notes are scheduled to sound.

Cage was a pupil of one of the 20th century's most influential composers, Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951).

Cage's avant-garde oeuvre includes works such as the notorious "4'33", a piece comprising four minutes and 33 seconds of total silence, all meticulously notated.

The organisers of the John Cage Organ Project say the record-breaking performance in Halberstadt also has a philosophical background -- to "rediscover calm and slowness in today's fast-changing world".

[spinestein]

Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is my second favorite orchestral piece after Holst's "The Planets".

My favorite modern "dissonance" is Tool's "Parabol and Parabola"

[RabidBartender]

I expect 50 Cent to sample this on his next CD.

[HIDEK6]

I believe you are talking "shades of gray."

I don't recall "shades of gray" appearing in the tale of VeVickers that I was told.

[NoCmpromiz]

hearing an F# diminished triad in first inversion being held down on an organ "for a few years" would do absolutely nothing to restore calm and slowness to my mind. In fact it would drive me absolutely bonkers.

There was a reason for Beethoven's deafness..

[The Coopster]

Lol! Reminds mw of Stephen Wright:

"I have the world's largest collection of seashells. Perhaps you've seen it scattered up and down the eastern seaboard of the US..."

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Why do you keep playing the same note over and over, most players move their hands over the keyboard and play several notes?
Those other cats are just searching for it but I flat found it.

Brother Dave

[WorkingClassFilth]

Yep. The only good thing to come out of all this kind of dreck is that it highlights those who revel in such garbage. Might prove to be a useful list down the road.

[doodad]

And I thought Dark Star was long. This must be for the DJ to not only pee and do bong hit, but raise a family and get a degree.

[reagan_fanatic]

I marvel at mankind's seemingly infinite capacity for mind-numbing stupidity.

[hinckley buzzard]

Makes Eric Satie sound like a real musician.

[Appalled but Not Surprised]

This reminds me of the classic "Philip Glass Knock Knock Joke." It goes like this....

"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
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etc.

[Squeako]

The next note will be "E" and we'll learn that this was just a publicity stunt, playing the NBC theme (E/G# as B-G#-E).

[nightdriver]

"Cage's avant-garde oeuvre includes works such as the notorious "4'33", a piece comprising four minutes and 33 seconds of total silence, all meticulously notated."

I've seen him "perform" that.

Just another piece of non-artistry foisted upon a naive public.

Cage must snicker under his breath when he sees all the crap that he's pulled off that substituted for music.

[paulat]

"Nice beat...but hard to dance to"

[DuncanWaring]

Where did you get Oscar Brand CDs? They come in a "boxed set"?

[Chode]

i always thought it was G/E/C for for it's owners... the General Electric Company

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

http://www.oscarbrand.com/

Above URL goes to his home page and a lot of his LP records have been recorded on compact disc.

[Revolting cat!]

[Mycroft Holmes]

I've always wanted to go to a performance of that thing and keep muttering "This is the worst performance of 4:33 I've never heard!" so I can have people shush me throughout.

I once owned an LP titled _Marcel Marceau's Greatest Hits_ which was 20 minutes of silence on a side followed by 1 minute of applause.

regards,

[okie01]

This seems almost an insult to music.

John Cage attempted to do for music what Picasso did for art.

Destroy it.