ES WIRD EINMAL GEWESEN SEIN

Of the stoppage of time. High-rise apartment blocks, red bricks, old pop hits and a dated funfair. That seems to be the extent of what the town of Halberstadt in the former East Germany has to offer. That is if it weren’t for the long drawn-out notes of a pipe organ that sound within the ancient walls of the old town church. This is the result of an extraordinary musical project, which is set to last for no less than 639 years. The avant-garde composer John Cage’s “Organ²/ASLSP” (Organ Squared/As SLow aS Possible) is supposed to be played until the year 2640 and not one note longer - “as slow as possible!” The film is an hilarious contemplation of the transcendence and infiniteness of time, recounted through the long drawn-out breath of an organ.