Some time back, I was watching some people play Trivial Pursuit, waiting for them to finish, and one question that came up, was "What is Organ² or ASLSP, which takes 639 years to finish?". The answer to this question is "The world's longest music piece". Since I was waiting for the others to finish their game anyway, I googled it. I find the whole project utterly strange and absurd, and since I like strange and absurd things, I've decided to pass it on to my readers:
ASLSP (short for "As Slow As Possible") or Organ² is a musical piece composed by avant garde composer John Cage (). John Cage is perhaps most widely known for his piece 4'33", a musical composition that consists of four minutes and thirtythree minutes of absolute silence, performed in three movements. Whereas 4'33" can be performed on any instrument, ASLSP is written for the Organ.
The piece doesn't necessarily take 639 years. The composer's instruction is simply that it be played "as slow as possible". Wikipedia links to a nine hour version of the piece, and the German Halberstadt project distributes a CD with the piece performed in "only" 75 minutes. The limit to the length of the piece is determined solely by the lifespan of the organ itself.
The Halberstadt project is the performance that the TP question refers to. It takes place in Halberstadt church in Germany, and began on September 5 2001 with one and a half years of silence. The first note was sounded on February 5 2003, and the last chord change was on May 5 2006. This note will be held until July 5 2008. The organ on which the piece is being performed is still under construction, and is expected to be completed in 2009.
On this page, you can listen to the current sound from the piece. I checked it a couple of times, and I find it sort of monotonous. I think I like 4'33" better. I mean what's the point in playing music that is per definition impossible to enjoy? Art can be quite pointless some times.
References:
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As SLow aS Possible
As SLow aS Possible
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