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Hidden Music Claimed In Da Vinci Painting

Posted by kdawson on from the tinfoil-palletes dept.

snib sends us to CNN for coverage of an Italian musician and computer technician who claims to have uncovered a hidden musical score in Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper." Giovanni Maria Pala published this and other findings about the 'Last Supper' painting in his book The Hidden Music, released in Italy Friday. "[This raises] the possibility that the Renaissance genius might have left behind a somber composition to accompany the scene depicted in the 15th-century wall painting. 'It sounds like a requiem,' Giovanni Maria Pala said. 'It's like a soundtrack that emphasizes the passion of Jesus.'"

6 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. In other news...minuet found in hamburglar's lunch by mveloso · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This has to be one of the most creative promotional stunts ever. It's difficult enough to get anyone to listen to new music, but tying your piece to the last supper is truly a work of genius.

  2. Re:Why are slashdotters by mrbluze · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So quick to dismiss this? I understand that most of you probably have no particular religious beliefs, or none at all, but what's to say that DaVinci wasn't the kind of man to try to disguise something inside one of his paintings? I still like to think it takes a truly open mind to discover the places technology can truly take us. Da Vinci may not have been religious himself, but he was no fool. He was known to hide riddles in his paintings and painted with his audience in mind - in this case monks. Why wouldn't he have placed something a bit more subtle than just an obviously female looking John and fairly obvious perspective lines and other features which stand out at a glance? The claimed discovery contained more than music - Giovanni Maria Pala also found some ancient Hebrew text.
    --
    Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
  3. Re:Sad story by Incadenza · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Da Vinci accidentally misplaced his car keys in the painting too, but died before he could find it.
    The Great Dutch Master forger Han van Meegeren once hid a tiny bicycle in one of his forgeries. This was only discovered after he confessed to be a forger and pointed it out on the painting.
  4. Re:Why are slashdotters by Bastard+of+Subhumani · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have an idea in my head, whenever I see birds on telegraph wires (it's on the Lotus Notes splash screen), that some composer saw the notes he wanted from the pattern they made, but I cannot find a reference for it. Google, of course, just brings up loads of Leonard Cohen hits. Anyone know the piece in question or am I just a crackpot?

    --
    Only three things are certain; death, taxes, and apocryphal quotations - Ben Franklin.
  5. Re:This is ridiculous... by philicorda · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In the 15th century, key signatures had not been invented yet.
    Accidentals were sometimes written, sometimes not.
    So, without explicit accidentals, to tell what the notes were meant to be they either knew the likely mode, or just guessed them, which is known as 'musica ficta'.
    http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musica_ficta

    The good thing about modes is that any arrangement of notes from the mode will sound pretty much like music.

    In this case, of finding modal music in the 'last supper', it would be hard to make it anything but musical, especially if you finagle the accidentals, timing and direction it so you have more chances to make it work.

    However, in defense of this research, there were a lot of complicated harmonic rules that sacred music would be expected to adhere to, and by following these rules it may be possible to get more informed guesses.

  6. Wrong key! by LineGrunt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I ran this by my wife who is a professional musician with perfect pitch and a degree in music.

    She says that the recording is in E-flat minor, but that organs at the time would have been in a different tuning standard, roughly one-half step different than the current standard.

    E-flat minor is a very rare key for that time-period (like it wasn't used until Bach) but if you move the snippet a half step, it would have been E minor, a very common key during that period.

    Furthermore, there are intervals in the snippet that weren't in common use in that time period. I couldn't keep my wife's interest long enough to determine if those intervals made more sense if the entire thing was 1/2 a step down.

    Anyhow, my wife's summary: "very pretty, but probably not from DaVinci's time."

    LineGrunt

    PS I may have the exact note names and directions wrong as I'm _not_ a professional musician with perfect pitch... Musicians have their own undecypherable 'geek-speak.'