The media installation Speculum Musurgica was conceived and made by Flemish visual artist Rudi Knoops. The installation presents two seven-part compositions performed by the Huelgas Ensemble: the motet Memorare Mater Christi by Matthaeus Pipelare (c. 1450-1515), which gives voice to the seven sorrows of the Virgin Mary, and the anonymous Proch Dolor, an elegy on the death of Emperor Maximilian (1519). In a spatial display, each of the seven musicians is seen and heard separately. From the middle of the installation, where the different layers of sound merge into a surround-sound, you gain an immersive listening experience. As you move closer to one of the musicians, the spatialisation of the layers of sound makes for a more analytical listening experience. For the moving image the artist uses the technique of cylindrical anamorphosis, where a mirror in the form of a cylinder is used to view a reconstruction of the distorted image.

The media installation Speculum Musurgica will be set up in Mechelen's St Rumbold's Cathedral from 6 to 28 January 2024 in conjunction with the EU Presidency. After Mechelen, Speculum Musurgica will continue its international journey, moving on to the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen in Spring 2024.