The Forty Part Motet by Janet Cardiff at Fabrica Brighton involves forty speakers pointing inwards as an oval, each speaker being a separate voice of the whole choir.
The piece subtly starts as if you were attending a Classical concert with the choir murmuring between themselves before focussed by the Conductor to sing ‘Spem in Alium’ (1573) a renaissance choral piece by Thomas Tallis.
It is an extraordinary experience as you first try and focus on sub-groups of B&W speakers that ‘sing’ the parts Tallis requires.
When the whole choir of forty sings for the first time in unison one could not help but feel a cold shudder of emotion and the rising fighting need to not be too emotional.
During the fifteen-minute performance a few things happen. First you forget you are listening to a recorded piece for the singers fill and transform the Fabrica space then the magic begins for you are in effect being surrounded by forty singers singing at you breaking the division of stage/audience – you are in some ways part of the choir.
Once you understand this, an urge may come about to walk about and listen to each individual singer’s contribution to the whole. For me there was a childlike joy walking about the ‘choir’ as one chooses, with no one from the gathered audience balking ‘that you can’t do that’ - I chose to walk around the inside of the whole oval.
And that’s what Janet Cardiff wants to share, the spatial nature of music, wanting you to ‘climb inside’ and you can until the end of May.
The Forty Part Motet by Janet Cardiff opens to the public tomorrow, 2 April and runs until 30 May at Fabrica, Duke Street, Brighton.
