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1000 year composition gets live performance (well, a bit of it does)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 14 September 2009
What I think can be described as a ‘snippet’ of a piece of music called ‘The Longplayer’ was given a live performance at the Camden Roundhouse this weekend. The snippet was 16.6 hours, or 1000 minutes, long. That counts as a ‘snippet’ because the full ‘Longplayer’ runs for 1000 years, which is quite a long trek, even by Meatloaf standards.
‘The Longplayer’ was created by musician Jem Finer, a founder member of The Pogues, and takes a piece of music recorded on Tibetan singing bowls in 1999 and reworks it through a clever computer programme so that it can run for a thousand years without ever actually repeating itself.
The current performance of the piece began on 31 December 1999, the plan being for it to continue playing until 31 December 2999. It could originally be heard in the Millennium Dome, but is now playing via the Trinity Buoy Wharf on the other side of the Thames. It can also be sampled at various other locations around the world, or via a web stream. You should tune in. I heard the best bit comes at 232 years, 19 days in. Get it cued up now.
The live performance of the 1000-minute snippet at the Roundhouse was created by 20 people on 234 of these Tibetan singing bowls constructed into a 20 metre wide instrument. 1000 minutes of Tibetan bowls chiming might sound a bit tedious, but there is something strangely alluring about the sound they make. I’m not saying I’d give the whole 1000 years a listen, or even 1000 minutes, but it is an interesting project which you had probably all forgotten about until now.
