Janet Cardiff, Forty‑Part Motet (2001), 40‑track audio installation, installation dimensions variable. NGC
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Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet
The publicly and critically acclaimed Forty-Part Motet is now back on display at the National Gallery of Canada.
This brilliant sound sculpture by Canadian artist Janet Cardiff is a reworking of Spem in Alium, a piece by 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis. Forty separately-recorded choir voices are played back through 40 speakers positioned around the Rideau Chapel in the Canadian and Indigenous Galleries. The effect of the work on visitors is deeply moving.
Location
National Gallery of Canada
Canadian and Indigenous Galleries Rideau Chapel
Canadian and Indigenous Galleries Rideau Chapel
380 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON K1N 9N4
CanadaMost people experience this piece now in their living rooms in front of only two speakers. Even in a live concert the audience is separated from the individual voices. Only the performers are able to hear the person standing next to them singing a different harmony. I wanted to be able to climb inside the music.
– Janet Cardiff
Featured Videos
Listen to Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Josée Drouin-Brisebois as she talks about Janet Cardiff's brilliant sound sculpture.
Live the experience of hearing Janet Cardiff’s Forty-Part Motet in our Rideau Chapel in this 360 degree video.
Related Content
In her sound installations Janet Cardiff redefines our experience of space and enables us to step inside the music.
May 10, 2018