A viewing angle of an embroidered sheet of music from John Cage’s Organ2/ASLSP, embroidered by artist Sabine Groschup, is illustrated in the photograph. The embroidered sheet is expanded by the artist with each change of sound. The slowest piece of music in the world has been altered for the 16th time since being played at Burchardi Church since February 2022. It began as a six-sound piece and has now become a seven-sound piece.
John Cage left the instruction for his piece Organ2/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible) to be performed as slowly as possible. The John Cage Organ Foundation in Halberstadt, Germany, has taken it upon themselves to present a performance that follows these instructions. A wooden-framed organ has played the composition since its inception in 2001, with metal pipes being added or removed with each change of chords. The bellows power the organ, with electrically generated wind being carried through an underground pipe.
The group originally intended for an organist to perform the piece until death; however, this concept was eventually discarded, and sandbags were used to hold the keys down instead. After much debate, the decision was made to perform Orga2/ASLSP for 639 years. The project includes an abandoned 11th century convent that was donated by the city for the performance.
The 639-year project had a miscalculation at its onset where the first 17 months of the piece consisted of the sound of air whooshing through the bellows. Many mistakes have been made during the process, including a mishap during filming that led to a pipe being loosened and temporary change in note. Neugebauer, a key member of the foundation, accepts these mistakes and believes John Cage would appreciate them as well.
Visitors will wonder how the project will be maintained until the year 2640, as it faces potential threats such as climate change, right-wing extremists, and nuclear war. However, Neugebauer takes the view that these concerns are for future generations and that he is only responsible for the performance’s first movement, which is scheduled to end on September 4, 2072, assuming calculations are correct.