The Forty Part Motet (A reworking of ‘Spem in Alium’, by Thomas Tallis 1556)(2001) is a deeply moving sound installation by artist Janet Cardiff (Canadian, born 1957). This pioneering work immerses visitors in a performance of ‘Spem in Alium’ (Hope in Any Other), a sixteenth-century sacred motet, or polyphonic choral composition, by composer Thomas Tallis (English, 1505–1585). To make the work, Cardiff recorded forty members of the Salisbury Cathedral Choir singing the piece individually. She then placed forty speakers in a large oval, with each speaker playing a different part. The installation offers a transcendent spatial experience of music as the sound shifts from one speaker to the next before converging as a full choir.

Venue address: The Studio, B2, M+