Janet Cardiff
Forty Part Motet (2001) [link]
Tate Modern, London, U.K.
Sitting in a dimly-lit room with tears streaming down my face, I stand and walk around the circle of 40 speakers, pausing before each to listen to the Salisbury Cathedral Choir sing in Latin– Spem in Alium, (16th century music by composer Thomas Tallis). The chorus creates a cacophony of need, slowly dialing into individual yearning as one moves throughout the space. The sound shifts, reverberating throughout the cavernous architecture. Unlike a musical performance, Cardiff allows the viewer to choose the level of experiential engagement—whether to be passive or active. Similar to Cardiff’s well-known audio walks, this meditative sculptural soundscape transports to an interior world full of primal longing.
~ Colette Copeland
images courtesy of the author
