How Does a 16th-Century Motet Sound Today? Janet Cardiff at M+

Description

Sound artist Janet Cardiff’s The Forty Part Motet (2001) is a pioneering sound installation that reworks Thomas Tallis’s sacred choral composition from the 16th century called Spem in Alium. Cardiff recorded forty members of the Salisbury Cathedral Choir individually, then arranged forty speakers in a large oval — each broadcasting a single voice. Visitors can walk among the speakers, hearing each singer up close before the voices converge into a full polyphonic choir. The result is a transcendent, sculptural experience of sound that shifts depending on where the listener stands. On loan from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the work marks the first project under the M+ and MoMA Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2025.

Born in 1957, Cardiff is an internationally acclaimed artist known for immersive, often audio-based installations. Her work frequently explores the physical and psychological dimensions of sound, space and perception. Collaborating with partner George Bures Miller, the sound artist has exhibited worldwide like National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa and Tate Modern. She is recognised as one of the most innovative artists working with sound as a sculptural medium.