The Da Vinci Coda

My favorite Leonardo (as opposed to that other Leonardo) was in the news about 2 weeks ago, but I've just gotten around to posting about it now.

An Italian musician/computer technician, Giovanni Maria Pala, has discovered what may possibly be a hidden musical composition in Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” He determined that by drawing the five lines of a musical staff across the painting, the loaves of bread on the table as well as the hands of Jesus and the Apostles could each represent a musical note.

Alessandro Vezzosi, a Da Vinci expert and director of a museum dedicated to the artist in his hometown of Vinci, states that the musician's hypothesis "is plausible," noting that Da Vinci was also a musician who played the lyre, designed various instruments, and included some musical riddles in his writings. Read more.

BTW, I thought I was being clever by giving this post the title “Da Vinci Coda” but then I Googled the phrase and found that ABC News had already used it. Guess I’m not all that original and clever. Oh well.

The Chocolate Shop

I wasn’t in a very good mood. The day was dreary and rainy. It took forever to find a parking space in town. I waited impatiently on a long boring line to return curtains at a local retail store while sappy muzak offended my ears. Then it was time to walk 3 more blocks in the dank chilly atmosphere to complete the next errand.

The storefront seemed empty, but an intense aroma of chocolate immediately welcomed us as we entered. But we weren’t there to buy candy on Friday afternoon; we were there to purchase tickets to a local symphony performance scheduled for next weekend. The last time we attended a performance we bought tickets at the door, but this time we wanted to make sure to have tickets in advance.

Tickets at the chocolate shop? … More specifically Abe’s Chocolate Shop. That name rang a bell; there was an “Abe” on the roster of our pops orchestra last year, a violin player. But he never showed up for a rehearsal. Could it be the same Abe?

A distinguished looking gentleman greeted us with a friendly smile when we inquired about the tickets. He helped us immediately and told us we would enjoy the performance. Then he added that he would see us there; he’d be playing in the violin section. Further conversation confirmed that he was indeed the same “Abe” that was on the “pops” roster. He was very impressed and interested that both my husband and I were members of the “pops.” He said that was where he started out, and that he’d now moved on to the local symphony, but unfortunately couldn’t make the time for both. A tiny sample of delectable minty chocolate melted in my mouth as we chatted about music performances, string players, repertoire and related topics. The best of both worlds: the flavor of chocolate; the theme of orchestra. I savored the moment.

Then, all too soon it was back to the car for a trip to the sporting goods store so my husband could buy some fishing gear. Not my favorite place, but the taste of the chocolate as well as the memory of the music chat lingered with me for the rest of the afternoon and put a smile on my face.

Why do you want the cello to play?

I want the cello to play because it makes me smile.

(This post commemorates 1 year of blogging. See November 6, 2006.)