As Slow as Possible - The John Cage Project

Time for an update! We are well into the new year, and I've finally processed most of the photos I brought back from my travels I spent a week in Germany over Christmas, which was great, except for the fact that it was a little bit warm. Not a snowdrop in sight. Anyway, enough climate change talk, time for some photos.

This, actually rather small organ, can be found in the Buchardikirche in Halberstadt/Germany. As organs go, this is a rather small one. But there is something special about this instrument. For the.....errhh...foreseeable future...this organ will play a concert written by the American composer John Cage. Length of the concert? 639 years!

Entrance to the concert venue, the Buchardikirche in Halberstadt/Germany.

Modern in art in the church yard.

The concert hall

As concert venues go, this is a rather unusual one. There is nothing glamorous about it, the place feels rather cold and unfinished.

The only thing that fills the room is constant sound from the organ. The performance began on the 5th of September 2001. There have been only 12 note changes since the start of the performance.

The bellows

The ceiling

The project is financed mostly through donations. Donors can buy a plaque, made of 10 mm steel, which is then displayed in the church.

Is it worth visiting? Yes, definitely! There is of course another church in Halberstadt, that's well worth a visit, the gothic cathedral.

And that's it from Halberstadt.