10/29/2020

JoHannes
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JoHannes
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It's not incense scent
No, it's not incense scent. Really, it's not. At least the current (the 3rd variation) of Messe de Minuit (eau de toilette) I have in front of me right now. While the first two variants were more scratchy and somehow, how should I say, more medieval and complex, denser, the current version is a fruity and yet darker scent.
A scent that always reminds me of a visit to the Isle of the Dead San Michele in the Venetian lagoon on November 1st, more than 10 years ago: it was a cold morning, the fog lay over the lagoon. Through the fog the sun was already shining and slowly dissolved the fog. Wafts of mist drifted out onto the lagoon. And through these wafts of mist we looked for the way to the graves of Sergei Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky. From time to time autumn flowers were still blooming. Then again a grave with a fresh bouquet of flowers. And again and again this iridescent play between sun and fog, which also reminds me of Stravinsky's music. Bulky beauties.
Messe de Minuit (Eau de Toilette) begins with a citric and slightly acidic overture, to which patchouli is added. Patchouli, as it is used for example in the Héritage (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain. Present but friendly. And rose. A late and strong rose. All this sweetened with cinnamon.
Soon, however, the solo oboe enters the sceptre in the form of a radiant myrrh. Present, dark myrrh, which has something fruity in its appearance. The second oboe is labdanum, which takes this rubbery chord from the myrrh. Together with the orchestral instruments (lemon, patch, rose, cinnamon) a work that is always touching for me.
No, it's not incense scent. It's a myrrh fragrance. With sacred echoes throughout, when I think of some visit to a small Romanesque church somewhere in Burgundy after a mass. The cool, damp walls and the smells that were smoked in the boiler and that hang in the brickwork and the wooden chairs.
Messe de Minuit (Eau de Toilette) was my entry into my niche fragrance collection. A fragrance that always works when nothing works anymore - and: it was sold to me as incense! ;-)
A scent that always reminds me of a visit to the Isle of the Dead San Michele in the Venetian lagoon on November 1st, more than 10 years ago: it was a cold morning, the fog lay over the lagoon. Through the fog the sun was already shining and slowly dissolved the fog. Wafts of mist drifted out onto the lagoon. And through these wafts of mist we looked for the way to the graves of Sergei Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky. From time to time autumn flowers were still blooming. Then again a grave with a fresh bouquet of flowers. And again and again this iridescent play between sun and fog, which also reminds me of Stravinsky's music. Bulky beauties.
Messe de Minuit (Eau de Toilette) begins with a citric and slightly acidic overture, to which patchouli is added. Patchouli, as it is used for example in the Héritage (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain. Present but friendly. And rose. A late and strong rose. All this sweetened with cinnamon.
Soon, however, the solo oboe enters the sceptre in the form of a radiant myrrh. Present, dark myrrh, which has something fruity in its appearance. The second oboe is labdanum, which takes this rubbery chord from the myrrh. Together with the orchestral instruments (lemon, patch, rose, cinnamon) a work that is always touching for me.
No, it's not incense scent. It's a myrrh fragrance. With sacred echoes throughout, when I think of some visit to a small Romanesque church somewhere in Burgundy after a mass. The cool, damp walls and the smells that were smoked in the boiler and that hang in the brickwork and the wooden chairs.
Messe de Minuit (Eau de Toilette) was my entry into my niche fragrance collection. A fragrance that always works when nothing works anymore - and: it was sold to me as incense! ;-)
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