This organ will play one composition until 2640. It’s redefining how slowly music can be played

This organ will play one composition until 2640. It’s redefining how slowly music can be played 1 of 5 | The organ of the John Cage organ project is illuminated prior to a ‘sound change’ at the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, Sept. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File) 2 of 5 | Organ builder Johannes Huefken adjusts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) 3 of 5 | Curator Anneli Borgmann, chairwoman of the Halberstadt" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="178606" data-entity-type="organization">John Cage organ project Halberstadt’s board of trustees, lifts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) 4 of 5 | Organ builder Johannes Huefken works on organ pipe for the John Cage organ project at his work shop in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) 5 of 5 | The organ of the John Cage organ project is illuminated prior to a ‘sound change’ at the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, Sept. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File) 1 of 5 | The organ of the John Cage organ project is illuminated prior to a ‘sound change’ at the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, Sept. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File) 1 of 5 The organ of the John Cage organ project is illuminated prior to a ‘sound change’ at the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, Sept. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Organ builder Johannes Huefken adjusts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) 2 of 5 Organ builder Johannes Huefken adjusts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | Curator Anneli Borgmann, chairwoman of the Halberstadt" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="178606" data-entity-type="organization">John Cage organ project Halberstadt’s board of trustees, lifts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) 3 of 5 Curator Anneli Borgmann, chairwoman of the Halberstadt" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="178606" data-entity-type="organization">John Cage organ project Halberstadt’s board of trustees, lifts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | Organ builder Johannes Huefken works on organ pipe for the John Cage organ project at his work shop in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) 4 of 5 Organ builder Johannes Huefken works on organ pipe for the John Cage organ project at his work shop in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | The organ of the John Cage organ project is illuminated prior to a ‘sound change’ at the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, Sept. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File) 5 of 5 The organ of the John Cage organ project is illuminated prior to a ‘sound change’ at the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, Sept. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Halberstadt, Germany (AP) — A small organ in eastern Germany is the headliner of the world’s slowest concert. It has been playing the same piece of music by composer John Cage at a glacial pace for nearly 25 years. A rare chord change on Wednesday — from seven notes to eight once an A4 pipe is added — will represent the completion of about 4% of the 639-year endeavor of the Halberstadt" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="178606" data-entity-type="organization">John Cage organ project Halberstadt.While the project commenced in 2000, the performance began Sept. 5, 2001 — Cage’s 89th birthday — with a silent pause that lasted until Feb. 5, 2003, when the first chords could actually be heard inside the medieval Burchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany.The “ORGAN²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible)” composition is scheduled to finish on Sept. 4, 2640. Organ builder Johannes Huefken adjusts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Organ builder Johannes Huefken adjusts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Curator Anneli Borgmann, chairwoman of the Halberstadt" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="178606" data-entity-type="organization">John Cage organ project Halberstadt's board of trustees, lifts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Curator Anneli Borgmann, chairwoman of the Halberstadt" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="178606" data-entity-type="organization">John Cage organ project Halberstadt's board of trustees, lifts a new pipe for a test at the John Cage organ project inside the Buchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share An electric-powered blower system sends wind into the organ to create a continuous sound. A chord change, done manually, means that the sound of the organ pipes changes either because new sounds are added or existing sounds end. On Tuesday, Jeffrey Lependorf, executive director of the John Cage Trust in New York, said he was looking forward to comparing the difference between the sounds before and after Wednesday’s chord change.“You feel it through your whole body,” he told The Associated Press. “It resonates in this incredible way.”