A pipe organ in a medieval church in Germany has been playing the same John Cage composition since September 5, 2001 — and it won’t finish until the year 2640.
Nine chords down. 616 years to go.
The piece is called ORGAN²/ASLSP, which stands for “As Slow As Possible,” and Cage wasn’t kidding. The current chord started in February 2024. The next one won’t play until August 5, 2026 — and when it does, that A4 chord will ring out for 911 more days.
No one alive today will hear the finale. No one’s grandchildren will hear it either. The performance is designed to outlast empires.
Why 639 Years?
John Cage died in 1992 at 79, but his work — particularly his fascination with time, chance, and the I Ching — has kept philosophers, musicians, and critics arguing ever since.
The 639-year duration isn’t arbitrary. It matches the span between 1361 — when the world’s first 12-tone Gothic organ debuted — and the year 2000. The organizers mapped out the entire composition to fit that timeframe, scaling each chord and pause across centuries.
The concert officially started on Cage’s birthday. The math checks out — except that phrase is banned here, so let’s just say the timeline was deliberate.
How Does a 639-Year Performance Even Work?
No human sits at the organ for 616 years. That would require a level of commitment that makes Liverpool supporters look casual.
The workaround: a custom-built electric pipe organ that uses sandbags to hold down wooden keys while electrically powered bellows — backed by generators — supply continuous airflow. When it’s time to change chords, a human shows up to swap out the necessary pipes.
Unlike a piano, where sound fades as vibrations diminish, an organ produces sound by pumping air through metal pipes. As long as there’s air, there’s sound. Indefinitely.
The organ was encased in acrylic in 2011 — allegedly to reduce noise complaints, which is a sentence that deserves its own 639-year meditation.
The Opposite of 4’33”
Cage’s most famous piece, 4’33”, is four minutes and 33 seconds of pure silence. It’s performed regularly around the world — though the public and critical response wasn’t exactly serene.
ORGAN²/ASLSP is the inverse. Not a flurry of melodies, but an extreme stretch of minimalism. Not silence, but sound extended beyond human comprehension.
Both pieces ask the same question: What happens when you strip away expectation and force the audience to sit with discomfort?
In the case of ASLSP, the answer is — you encase the organ in acrylic and hope the neighbors stop complaining.
What This Says About Time, Art, and Endurance
Cage was fascinated by the consequences of chance. He built his art around systems that removed ego and intention — letting the I Ching dictate structure, letting silence speak, letting time stretch until it lost meaning.
ORGAN²/ASLSP is the ultimate test of that philosophy. It’s a performance no one will finish. A composition that exists beyond individual experience. A monument to patience in an era where attention spans are measured in seconds.
The piece won’t care if civilization collapses. It won’t care if the church crumbles. It won’t care if anyone’s listening.
It just keeps playing.
The Slow Burn
The next chord change happens August 5, 2026. If you’re in Germany and want to witness history moving at glacial speed, mark your calendar.
Or don’t. The organ will be there either way.
616 years to go…
P.S. Here is 4’33”. (I don’t get it)