Register: https://www.craftcontemporary.org/programs/odophonics-a-performance-for-scent-and-chamber-ensemble-with-brian-goeltzenleuchter-and-sean-francis-conway/

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The IAO is thrilled to co-produce a scent concert with Brian Goeltzenleuchter and Sean Francis Conway at Craft Contemporary. Creatively riffing on a 19th century treatise on the harmonics of smell, Goeltzenleuchter and Conway’s performance challenges current perceptions of how we experience smell and sound. The auditory element involves Minimalist structures that create gradual chord transformations, while the corresponding scent notes are released in time.

Septimus Piesse, a 19th century French perfumer, created the ‘Odophone,’ a literal scale of smells corresponding to different pitches in Western musical notation. According to his logic, scent chords could be formed. Piesse’s logic somewhat corresponded to the scientific understanding of smell in his day, which posited that smell, like sound, was perceived by frequency and vibration. That logic has since been debunked, rendering Piesse’s Odophone little more than a historical anachronism. That is, unless one is dubious of the scientific evidence that supports this conviction. Or, unless one finds value in mining anachronisms as a way to move culture forward.

Odophonics, a performance for scent and chamber ensemble, is an ongoing collaboration between Sean Francis Conway and Brian Goeltzenleuchter. The performance is a jumping off point to explore Piesse’s Odophone, to test new propositions about how one experiences smell, particularly in relation to sound.

The musical component in Odophonics uses Minimalist structures such as consonant harmony, drones and polyrhythms to create gradual chord transformations. All the notes in this ambient soundscape can be found on Piesse’s scale. As the performers play the composition, Goeltzenleuchter releases the corresponding scent notes in time. Each scent is faithfully derived from Piesse’s scale. Together, the musical and olfactory harmonics gradually shift. Specific to the performance is the question: What relationships exist between concurrent perceptions of smell and sound?