As slow as possible: Musical piece that'll play for 600+ years changes chord
Piano and mental health
How long is one song? Three minutes? Five minutes? For the discerning few among us who are into classical symphonies, a piece of music may go for longer than 10 minutes. But how about one that goes on for more than 600 years? Yes, this is a piece of music that's so long it will be playing even after generations. The unique experiment has now crossed a milestone. on Monday (Feb 5), the music composition changed chord for first time in two years.
The experimental music piece called As Slow As Possible started 'playing' in the year 2001 in a German church. The music has been composed by avant-garde composer John Cage. It being played on a specially designed organ and will not finish playing before year 2640. The organ is in Burchardi Church in Halberstadt town in Germany.
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For a musical piece of that long a duration. It'll be played slow, like really really slow. So since 2001, it has changed chord only 16 times. This may happen in a usual song in matter of 30seconds!.
The uniqueness of the experiment has made it famous across the world over years. So much so that just to witness the chord change, people booked tickets years in advance.
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So for a piece of music This long, you'd need tonnes of paper for notations right?
Nope.
The musical piece fits just eight sheets of paper. It's just that, as the name suggests, it is being played super slow.
Last time the music changed chord was in 2022. The musical project says on its website that next change in chord will take place on August 5, 2026.
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The musical piece isn't that long actually. When it premiered in 1987, it lasted just under 30 minutes. The subsequent renditions however, like one in 2009 by Organist Diane luchese, have been hours long. This particular one lasted for 14 hours and 56 minutes.
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But the one playing in the German church? Even if classical music makes you go asleep, this one will resolutely play on after lifetime's worth of your powernaps.
(With inputs from agencies)