Longplayer is a composition whose duration is measured not in minutes, hours or even days, but in centuries. Designed to last 1,000 years, a performance of Longplayer began in the year 2000 in London. Conceived and composed by Jem Finer, it is played mainly by computers, with the help of live performers who occasionally perform in sync with the 1,000-year-long version.
Finer's original composition, for Tibetan singing bowls, gongs and bells, was only about 20 minutes long. To create the millennium edition, the computer does not change the tempo, but repeats the piece with variations based on a computational algorithm. Longplayer is designed never to repeat itself once in 1,000 years.
To the serious music lover, the idea of a performance spanning centuries is something to be contemplated with equal amounts of fascination and dread, and the usual concert questions become almost farcical:
"How long is the intermission?"
"Do we have to wait until the end to applaud?"
"Where can I download the full version?"
As for enjoying such a concert, it presents certain difficulties for average listeners, whose attention span is generally much less than their life span. Fortunately, there are Longplayer Live concerts, where performers play short snippets of the work (if you can call 1,000 minutes a snippet).
Longplayer Live is performed on 234 singing bowls arranged in six concentric rings. These performances are precisely synched with the automated version of Longplayer.
The primary venue for Longplayer is in the 19th century lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London, although it can be heard at other "listening posts" throughout the world. It is also streamed live on the Longplayer website.
The final variation of Longplayer is scheduled to conclude in the year 3000. A lot can happen in 1,000 years, however.
"Will enough people throughout the centuries commit to continuing the project?"
"Is there a funding model that can endure for that long?"
Like the Mayan Calendar, its original purpose may become shrouded in mystery. Future generations may regard it with a kind of religious dread, fearing what will happen when the music ends.
