New Chord in 639-Year Cage piece
A new chord was heard yesterday in a six-century-long organ performance of John Cage's Organ2/ASLSP ("As Slow as Possible").Cage's 1992 piece originally lasted just 20 minutes (and was played on a piano). But a group of musicologists decided several years ago to take its title at face value, and initiated a 639-year performance of the work on a church organ in Halberstadt, Germany
The performance began in September 2001 with the inflation of the organ's bellows, followed by 18 months of silence. In February 2003, a chord was heard, and in July 2004 two notes were added. The new chord—an A, a C, and an F-sharp—will last until 2012.
Fans of experimental music have been flocking to the church , and the local village is booming as a result. The organ is being specially built for, and during, the concert. The organisers hope that enough money will be raised to fund new pipes in time for forthcoming new notes.
09/01/2006
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