Renaissance song live at City Gallery

Janet Cardiff's The Forty-Part Motet has been bringing tears to the eyes of City Gallery visitors since February, and is the inspiration behind what promises to be a sold-out evening of Renaissance song by Wellington's Cathedral Choir on Wednesday 5 May.

"Janet Cardiff's The Forty-Part Motet seems to have triggered a real interest in Renaissance choral music, with many visitors asking where they can hear this type of music live," says Kirsty Glengarry, City Gallery's Public Programmes manager. "It seemed the perfect opportunity to work with the Cathedral Choir. There's huge excitement about this event, and tickets are already flying out the door,"

On Wednesday 5 May at 7pm the Cathedral Choir will perform the work of composer Thomas Tallis and his contemporary William Byrd in City Gallery's Adam Auditorium, conducted by Michael Fulcher.

It is also an opportunity to revisit Janet Cardiff's sculptural sound installation The Forty-Part Motet (2001), in which forty separately-recorded voices are played back through forty speakers. This staggering, enveloping piece is a reworking of Spem in Alium Nunquam Habui (1573) by Thomas Tallis, one of England's most influential Renaissance composers.

The Gallery doors will be open from 6.15pm, to allow visitors to experience The Forty-Part Motet before the concert starts at 7pm. Tickets are available from the Gallery, both in advance and on the night.

Wednesday 5 May, 7pm (doors open 6.15)
City Gallery Wellington's Adam Auditorium
$10, ($5 for Friends of the Gallery)