01 Feb Perfume and music: a magic synesthesia

There is an invisible language that unites perfume and music—a sensory bridge spanning centuries and speaking directly to emotion. Smelling a fragrance is, in a way, like listening to a melody. Both unfold over time, with an opening, a heart, and a finale, and both leave a trace in memory. It is no coincidence that for more than a century and a half we have spoken of olfactory notes, a term borrowed directly from the world of music.

The theory of Septimus Piesse: when perfumes become music

In the 19th century, English chemist and perfumer Septimus Piesse was among the first to theorise a true correspondence between sound and scent. In his book The Art of Perfumery (1857), Piesse suggested that fragrances could be organised like a musical scale.

According to his vision, each aromatic raw material possessed a vibration comparable to a musical note: lemon could be likened to a high C, rose to an E, sandalwood to a deeper F. While this theory has no strict scientific foundation, its cultural impact has been profound. It helped shape the idea of perfume not as a static smell, but as a dynamic composition—an olfactory harmony constructed like a piece of music.

Even today, when we speak of the olfactory pyramid with top, heart, and base notes, we are using a musical metaphor rooted precisely in Piesse’s thinking.

Listening to a perfume: a synaesthetic experience

“To listen to a perfume” may sound like a paradox, yet it perfectly captures the sensory experience a fragrance can evoke.
Smell is the sense most directly linked to memory and emotion, much like hearing. A well-crafted olfactory accord opens with an initial burst that captures attention, then evolves, warms, and deepens, before slowly fading away like the final notes of a symphony.

This temporal dimension is what makes perfume musical. We do not perceive it all at once—we experience it. And, as with music, each person may perceive different nuances, depending on sensitivity, personal history, and their own olfactory “ear”.

Fragrant melodies: musical genres and olfactory families

If we fully embrace the parallel, olfactory families can be imagined as musical genres.
Citrus fragrances—fresh and radiant—recall pop music or light jazz: immediate, energetic, and ideal for daytime wear.
Floral fragrances, rich in nuance and harmony, can be compared to classical or operatic music, where each flower is like a solo instrument in dialogue with the others.
Oriental and amber compositions, warm and sensual, evoke deeper, more enveloping sounds such as blues or soul.
Woody fragrances, structured and long-lasting, feel almost symphonic and orchestral, while fougères, with their aromatic and green facets, bring to mind folk or chamber music—balanced and measured, without excess.

These associations are not rules, but suggestions. They serve to describe perfume in an evocative way, translating the invisible into images and sounds we instinctively recognise.

A fragrance as music played by an orchestra

Imagining a perfume as an orchestra is perhaps the most powerful metaphor of all.
Top notes are the wind instruments that open the concert—lively and bright.
Heart notes are the strings, giving body, emotion, and continuity to the composition.
Base notes, finally, are the double basses and percussion: deep, persistent, responsible for the trail that lingers on the skin like an echo.

In this scenario, the perfumer is the conductor. They must know every “instrument” intimately, understanding when to let it shine and when to keep it in the background to create a coherent harmony. A misjudged dosage is like a wrong note—it can undermine the entire composition.

The Merchant of Venice and Gran Teatro La Fenice: where perfumery meets music

This dialogue between perfume and music finds one of its most fascinating expressions in the collaboration between The Merchant of Venice and the Gran Teatro La Fenice of Venice.
Two Venetian excellences, both guardians of a centuries-old artistic tradition, come together to celebrate art in all its forms. The fragrances born from or inspired by this collaboration tell the story of Venice as an opera—opulent, emotional, and steeped in history.

Each perfume becomes a tribute to music, theatre, and the invisible scenography that connects stage and skin. Wearing one of these fragrances means carrying a fragment of melody with you—an accord that echoes through calli and velvet-lined opera houses.

Perfume and music share a common destiny: they are unseen, yet deeply felt. They speak a universal language made of emotions, memories, and vibrations. The theory of Septimus Piesse, though conceived in another century, continues to inspire because it invites us to experience perfume not merely as an object, but as an experience.

To listen to a perfume is to give yourself time to perceive its evolution, recognise its notes, and be carried away by its melody—just as happens when, in a theatre like La Fenice, the lights dim and the music begins to play.