We were visiting my Sister in Law last week and by chance I picked up a music magazine. In there was an interesting story about an Italian who had discovered what he thought to be a hidden musical notation in Da Vinci’s Last Supper using the tablecloth as the staff and the bread rolls as musical notes. The twist was that you had to play it backwards, so maybe the conspiracy nuts were right about John Lennon…
Hunting round the internet the story was much covered during November (examples here and here). I have been trying to track down what it actually sounds like, but so far all I have found is a snippet of sombre organ misic on a short video at the Discovery Channel (There also seems to be a lot of additional symbolism as explained on the video).
Of course, I could buy the book of the theory of the story by the author, which includes a CD as well. I’m not entirely sure if this book is in English and it is probably a bit too esoteric for me. However, it is available online for 15 Euros.
The other alternative, of course, is to work it out for myself, so I’ll do some decoding, hook up the MIDI cables and the synth. I’ll mess about with the voicing so that it sounds suitably majestic.
Then I’ll post up the results here later. Bookmark this post…
UPDATE- after hours of calculation and synthesis, I’ve finally managed to get the music sounding as I think Da Vinci intended. I have to say it didn’t turn out as I expected, or the same as on YouTube below. You can hear my results here;- MP3 file- The Last Supper Decoded
A trip to the pantomime is an English tradition when many youngsters get their first taste of live theatre. It also keeps the acting profession in work for a couple of months!
This year’s family trip was to see Jack in the Beanstalk at Wakey. They do a fairly traditional panto, although whilst there is a Dame (man in drag) the leading man is actually a man in this version. This version also included Jack & Jill and a Pirate Ship, although the giant was a 10′ high character, rather than the “into the woods” version where the giant is so huge that he is an eye through a window and a giant hand carrying away the narrator (to cheers, it was Nicholas Parsons when we saw it) .
No trip to the theatre would be complete (for me) without a wander through the auditorium levels with my camera. The three views above show the different perspective of the safety curtain from the Stalls, the Dress Circle and the Upper Circle (nee Gallery). As can be seen, this is a very intimate theatre and the smallest remaining Matcham house, currently seating 499.
The theatre is now 113 years old and whilst showing its age here and there, there are big plans afoot to drag the building kicking and screaming into the 21st Century with a major front of house development on empty land to the side of the theatre. The enhancements will not alter anything significant in the auditorium of course, as the sightlines are really good and restoration will be the way forward.
Wandering through various corridors, these windows were looking rather photogenic. The bearded man on the right was in a Gents toilet! Pictured below is a centenary photo with lots of signatures, found in the upper circle staircase.
There was the opportunity to buy various flashy light up toys from the ushers, so the consequence of this was a distinct lack of blackout between scenes. You may have noticed various ads painted onto the safety curtain. They made another appearance for the “singalong” cloth which featured a slightly modified drunken sailor chorus.
Finally, this huge montage in a picture frame is worthy of closer attention. Be warned though- it is a big file so don’t click unless you have broadband, or patience!
Yesterday afternoon, we took a trip over to Manchester for a bit of Wassailing in style. It was for a carol singalong at the Bridgewater Hall which replaced the Free Trade Hall as the home of the Halle’ orchestra in 1996. Holding nearly 2400 people in vineyard style, it has been designed with great emphasis on the accoustic performance. The auditorium is isolated from the outer structure by springs and all plant is located in a separate tower building beyond the main hall. (An enlightening Building history can be found on their website).
The auditorium feels surprisingly intimate and sitting in the middle of row A is very in your face, a much better view than the side choir stalls last year.
Lots of snaps, the best composed ones too blurry, unfortunately. We were given songsheets for the singalong with thirteen carols listed, an unusual inclusion being Lord of the Dance. The most unusual carol was While Shepherds watched sung to the tune of On Ilkley Moor Ba’ Tat
I’ve been tagged by Grendel for my eight 2008 wishes (Iain Dale’s Meme)
Of course, I could buy the book of the theory of the story by the author, which includes a CD as well. I’m not entirely sure if this book is in English and it is probably a bit too esoteric for me. However, it is 
