One of the most beautiful chapels in the land

“The Rideau Street Chapel was originally part of Our Lady of the Sacred Hearts, a girls’ boarding school in Ottawa, run by the Sisters of Charity. The school first opened in 1849 and moved to Rideau Street in 1869. Over the years, it grew to occupy the entire block enclosed by Rideau, Waller, Besserer and Cumberland Streets. The Chapel was added in 1887–1888, designed by priest-architect Georges Bouillon. It is the only example of its kind in North America from this period to include a Tudor style fan-vaulted ceiling supported by slim iron columns.

The school was sold in 1970 and the entire property was scheduled for demolition in 1972. Thanks to the efforts of various community organizations who advocated for the building’s heritage status, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada declared on 26 April 1972 that “the chapel interior is of national significance on architectural ground and the owners should be encouraged to preserve it if at all possible” [Luc Noppen, One of the Most Beautiful Chapels in the Land (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1988), 20]. Two days later, the Hon. Jean Chrétien confirmed the heritage designation of the chapel’s interior.

Although the school was demolished, the chapel interior was purchased by the National Gallery of Canada. With the help and collaboration of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, the Friends of the National Gallery of Canada, various government bodies and heritage conservation groups, the Gallery was able to relocate the chapel and its original altar and altar screen – all 1123 pieces of it – to its current location inside the National Gallery of Canada’s new building in 1988, preserving this rare example of Canadian architectural history. “ [1]

Today, with 40 speakers carefully placed around the Rideau Street Chapel, visitors to the Chapel can sit in this beautiful space and listen to Janet Cardiff’s Forty-Part Motet. To say that this is a deeply moving experience is to minimize its effect on the listener. The sound is nothing short of beautiful.

“The publicly and critically acclaimed Forty-Part Motet is now back on display at the National Gallery of Canada. This brilliant sound sculpture by Canadian artist Janet Cardiff is a reworking of Spem in Alium, a piece by 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis. Forty separately-recorded choir voices are played back through 40 speakers positioned around the Rideau Chapel in the Canadian and Indigenous Galleries. The effect of the work on visitors is deeply moving.” [2]

Sources: [1]Rideau Street Chapel, National Gallery of Canada. Available at: <a href="https://www.gallery.ca/collection/collecting-areas/canadian-art/architectural-interiors" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.gallery.ca/collection/collecting-areas/canadian-art/a...</a>