This is a story about a poem, a painting, a statue and a concerto.
…and it came to pass that in England a playwright writes a love poem, in Amsterdam an artist paints a baroque portrait, in Italy a sculptor crafts a marble figure, and in Austria a composer writes a music score.
An Australian schoolgirl is in France on a student exchange program. It is day’s end and she is in her room lying on her bed, reading. She has been given a homework assignment to choose a poem from the schoolbook she’s been given. The book contains a variety of classical works. She has to give an assessment and critique of the piece she has chosen. She has discovered a beautiful poem that she has not read before. She is so taken by it that she begins to read it a second time…
A Canadian art student is on a backpacking tour through Spain. Although he is taking a break from his studies, he intends to visit as many art galleries as he can. He has entered a room and finds an oil painting that shows a portrait of an elderly man sitting in a chair. The student is not sure whether he has come across it in any of his books, but is taken by it and after walking around the remainder of the gallery he returns to it. He settles on a seat opposite and spends time enjoying what he sees.
A Japanese family is on holiday in New York. During their stay they take a pre-booked day trip to Buffalo. The coach parks and the passengers are given time to visit Delaware Park, with its lakes and gardens. The daughter is a keen photographer. She is excited to find a bronze replica of her favourite statue. It is of a biblical figure. She takes several photos and can’t wait to show her friends back home. She stands back looking at it, dreaming of the day that she intends to visit the original.
A Swedish businessman pays a short visit to Finland. He takes a morning flight to Helsinki, where he has a number of business meetings scheduled for most of the day. He intends to speak with several companies that he has been dealing with, then stay the night at a hotel and return the following morning. On arrival, he settles in and confirms his booking for a rental car for getting around the city. He goes over the details of what he intends to discuss with each of the company representatives and the times that have been arranged. On his way to his first meeting he listens to a music program on the car’s radio. As a lover of classical music, he is captivated by what he hears. It is a beautiful piece, a concerto that he doesn’t think he has heard before. He arrives at his destination and parks. Quite regardless of his schedule, he stays in his car to listen to the rest of it.
Back in the day… in England, William Shakespeare wrote ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ This being the eighteenth of his one hundred and fifty four sonnets. A piece that describes the consistent attributes and beauty of a beloved.
In Amsterdam, Rembrandt painted the ‘Portrait of an Old Man in Red’, a self-portrait showing him to be sitting calmly, yet showing a lifetime of wear.
In Italy, Michelangelo created a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture, this being a larger-than-life marble statue of the Biblical figure David.
In Austria, Mozart composed the Clarinet Concerto consisting of three movements, shortly before his death. It was the last major instrumental composition he composed.
Meanwhile, eons of varying length drift away toward the now.
Could any of them fully conceive the legacy that they would leave behind?