Forty Part Motet

Janet Cardiff’s internationally acclaimed sound installation Forty Part Motet (2001) is at Richmond Chapel in Penzance, a former Wesleyan Chapel and Grade II listed building, usually closed to the public. Cardiff has reworked 16th-century composer Thomas Tallis’s choral masterpiece Spem in alium nunquam habui by recording 40 individual male voices (bass, baritone, alto, tenor and child soprano) and playing each individual voice through its own speaker. The visitor can move amongst the 40 speakers to listen to single voices, or be immersed in the overall complexity of the choral ensemble.

A Groundwork exhibition presented by Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange.
Groundwork is a season of international contemporary art in Cornwall from May to September 2018. With a focus on place and an emphasis on moving image, sound and performance, the programme presents new commissions made in Cornwall, together with existing works by internationally acclaimed artists. Groundwork is organised by Helston-based arts organisation CAST (Cornubian Arts & Science Trust).