Regarded as one of the greatest monastic cities in Europe, the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud is striking by its prodigious architectural diversity. Part of the Network of Cultural Centres-historic monuments (CCR) since 1975, the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud is famous for its history and its creations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Janet Cardiff, born in Canada in 1957, lives and works between Berlin and Grinrod in British Columbia. Like many artist of her generation, Janet Cardiff chose to work with a variety of media, like videos, installations or recorded sounds. Since 1995, she is famous throughout the world for her audio and video hikes; visitors, equipped with a Walkman or a camcorder, walk around following her instructions, hence participating to her stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Forty Part Motet (2001) revisits choral music from the Renaissance. Janet Cardiff uses a musical piece from the English composer Thomas Tallis (1514-1585) and separately records forty voices from the Salisbury Festival Choir; then, forty speakers, placed strategically, play these recordings. The visitor becomes the heart of one of the most complex choral polyphony ever composed. She creates a space where he can enter the music, either by listening to the piece, or by going towards each and every voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n