IMAGINE settling in for a listening session that requires not just a comfy chair but a time machine!
The idea of a musical composition that plays for 1,000 years without repeating sounds like something cooked up.
Does this really exist or just a tall tale from the land of musical myths?
Verdict:
TRUE
Enter Longplayer, a composition by Jem Finer, a banjo player and one of the founding members of pop band The Pogues.
This piece of music began playing at the dawn of the new millennium and is designed to continue for a total of 1,000 years – without repeating itself!.
The piece can be heard at the lighthouse in Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, where it has been playing since the year 2000. It can also be heard at several other listening posts around the world and globally via a live stream.
According to longplayer.org: "Longplayer is composed in such a way that the character of its music changes from day to day and from century to century. It works in a way somewhat akin to a system of planets, which are aligned only once every thousand years and whose orbits meanwhile move in and out of phase with each other in constantly shifting configurations. In a similar way, Longplayer is predetermined from beginning to end – its movements are calculable but are occurring on a scale so vast as to be all but unknowable."
The music piece uses a combination of six short loops of music, which are layered and staggered over time in a way that creates a constantly evolving piece.
Longplayer is a testament to human creativity and ingenuity, stretching the boundaries of what we consider music and how we experience it over time.
Whether you're a music lover or just someone curious about the quirks of art, Longplayer offers a fascinating glimpse into the possibilities of sound and the enduring nature of creativity.
Just think – if you start listening now, you'll still be enjoying until the next millenium!
References:
https://longplayer.org/about/overview/
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/498224-longest-music-recital
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/sep/22/longplayer-980-years-to-go-parties-fears-1000-year-long-piece-of-music-turns-20
