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Last week I had the tremendous privilege of experiencing Janet Cardiff’s Forty Part Motet, installed as part of the Venice Architectural Biennale (in Arsenale). Forty speakers. Forty voices. A ‘reworking’ of Thomas Tallis’ “Spem in Alium”. The work felt a little like a sonic oasis amongst the heat and ‘density’ of much of the work presented (in the pavilions by various ‘countries’). It was profoundly moving and one of those rare occasions when the displacement of the human by (simple) technology seemed only to strengthen the wonderful human simplicity of Tallis’ work. Remarkable.
Apologies for the quality of the video — it was shot on my phone.
There are some other details here: http://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/inst/motet.html