Les Roses de Francfort - Marianne von Willemer Albrecht 2005

The Frankfurt traditional perfumery Albrecht launched a wonderful rose fragrance series in 2005: six Eaux de Parfums that are connected to Frankfurt's great son Goethe and are all very appealing. The fragrances were conceived in France and remind one of great French perfumery art. They are therefore classic and highly recommended for those seeking something special away from the mainstream, but who do not want to scour the "world wide web" for sensations or the hipster perfumeries of the major metropolises for "limited editions."
After a visit to the Albrecht branch in "Fressgass" and testing all the Frankfurt rose fragrances (by the way, together with another very experienced perfume nose), I decided to purchase the EdP dedicated to Marianne von Willemer.
Her great secret was only revealed nine years after her death: Marianne von Willemer was not just another great love of Goethe's (1749-1832). As the only one of the many women who inspired and invigorated him, the actress and dancer co-wrote with Goethe himself.
Some of Willemer's poems found their way into Goethe's masterpiece "West-Eastern Divan," which was influenced by the Persian poetry of Hafiz. Just before Goethe met the significantly younger Marianne in Frankfurt, he read Hafiz's poems, which impressed him so much that he even began to learn Persian.
In January of this year, I had the pleasure of listening to a lecture about Goethe's relationship with Marianne (online, at a good friend's house, who is a member of the Frankfurt "Women's Club"). The club had invited Goethe specialist Prof. Anne Bohnenkamp-Renken, who explained:
"There are two poems that we know for sure, these are the famous poems to the East Wind and West Wind."
Willemer, who died on December 6, 1860, at the age of 76, had outed herself as a co-author of the cycle in a conversation with the writer Herman Grimm. The son of the fairy tale collector Wilhelm Grimm, who had visited Willemer in Frankfurt before her death, revealed this in an essay published in 1869.
To this day, Goethe research is still debating which poems in the "Divan" can be traced back to Marianne.
Marianne's life was exciting. She was born in Austria as an illegitimate child, came to Frankfurt at the age of 14, and already performed as an actress and dancer at the theater as a young girl.
The banker Johann Jacob Willemer took the more than 20 years younger Marianne into his household in 1800 and married her. In 1814, Goethe met the couple during a spa stay in Wiesbaden. At that time, he was already 65 years old. Goethe then visited the Willemers in Frankfurt. A year later, Goethe stayed in the summer at the Gerbermühle, the country estate of the wealthy banker by the Main, who felt it a great honor to host Goethe.
Marianne and Goethe fell in love with each other. Did they ever really "carry out" their love? Ma waas es net...
However, they immortalized their feelings as "Hatem" and "Suleika" in the "Divan."
Contemporaries described Marianne as a charming, educated, witty, and very attractive woman. "She was a sparkling personality," said Bohnenkamp-Renken in her lecture. "Moreover, she was intellectually on par with the poet and inspired him to poetic heights."
The perfumer who composed the "Marianne perfume" must have been equally inspired by this story. The fragrance opens immediately very floral with a cascade of bergamot, rose, and jasmine. These are the "big players" of the composition, particularly of course rose and jasmine, both of which also have a firm place in Persian garden culture and fragrance production.
Soon, a woody component joins in, a fine sandalwood that carries through the entire composition, which is finely rounded off with patchouli and vanilla. References to "Nahema" on one side and "Le Parfum" by Hermes are clearly recognizable. Particularly interesting is another component, guaiac wood, which gives the EdP more depth and a characteristic spiciness. The pyramid also mentions oud. Well, I can't detect it.
The smart salesman at Albrecht, who would have much preferred to sell us an eye cream for 159 euros (f***!!! not with me!!!) rather than a "house perfume" for a mere 49 euros ("Incredibly good value for money here with our fragrances," he boasted - and that's true!), claimed that he could smell oud in the background.
Since the fragrance is from 2005, I suspect that none of the later developed synthetic oud aroma chemicals are included and that the proportion of real oud in "Marianne" is very, very low.
In short, it is a heavy, luscious rose fragrance that does not reinvent the wheel or represent anything super modern-innovative. On the contrary, "Marianne" is a love letter to the classics.
As Goethe beautifully said:
"Do you want to keep wandering? Look, the good is so close. Just learn to seize happiness. For happiness is always there."
With the "Marianne von Willemer" fragrance, a rose perfume classic fan can experience perfume happiness. And maybe read a bit in the "Divan"... it's worth it.