World’s Slowest Song Just Had Its First Chord Change In Seven Years
September 7, 2020 3:29PM EDT
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 30: Organ builder Chris Varley looks up at the Royal Festival Hall organ at Southbank Centre on August 30, 2013 in London, England. Recently unveiled following its restoration and re-installation by organ builders Harrison & Harrison at a cost of £2.3 million raised through donations from 60,000 people and a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The instrument, comprising 7,866 pipes, will now be voiced and balanced ahead of its re-inauguration at the Pull Out All The Stops organ festival, running from March 18, 2014 to June 7, 2014. The festival also marks the organs 60th anniversary since it was first played in May 1954. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
How starved are people for live music these days? Hundreds of people gathered in Germany over the weekend to hear a single chord change.
It happened during a performance of a song called “Organ/ASLSP (As Slow As Possible”, by avant-garde composer John Cage. The song has been going on for the last 19 years, with the last note change happening back in 2013.
On Sunday, the specially-built organ performing the piece changed chords for the first time in 2,527 days. “Organ/ASLSP” will take over 639 years to complete, playing its final note in the year 2640.
Do you think “Organ/ASLSP” will make it to the end of its performance? Ever attend a concert that wasn’t worth the ticket price?
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