Posted on 01/06/2006 4:42:30 PM PST by 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".
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sitetest
What a bunch of decadent crap.
"composer John Cage (1912-1992)"
And the funeral procession just started rolling out of the parking lot.
Dear Borges,
Now, my own two cents.
Why?
Why bother?
This seems almost an insult to music.
sitetest
I just got my Oscar Brand's CDs today and after ripping them to my hard drive 38 hours of the best folk singer and songs in the world!
I know I must have heard something by Cage at some time in my life. I just can't remember what.
That has to be one of the stupidest ideas ever.
Maybe it was this..."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."
A minor third worth waiting for.
My version of this holds up well against the original.
It's also not the longest. I've just composed a one chord organ recital which will last 640 years and three months. ;')
Agreed.
Hey, that's some nickname...
:'D
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.
But it was all "meticulously notated" somewhat like a
Dan Rather news report on G.W.Bush.
Liberals will buy anything.
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