Posted on 5 February 2026:
Music and Color in Paris – A Harmonious Dialogue of Sound and Painting at Saint Denys de la Chapelle
“MUSIC IS LIKE CREATING AN EMOTIONAL PAINTING. THE SOUNDS ARE THE COLORS.” — Yanni
On February 1, 2026, the historic Church of Saint Denys de la Chapelle in Paris became the stage for an extraordinary celebration of art and harmony. The association Colour-Space-Culture presented “Music and Color”, a luminous encounter between the resonant strings of the Quatuor Drémise from Geneva and the vibrant canvases of artist Larissa Noury.
This event, as the president of the association explained, followed the acclaimed exhibition “Kandinsky: Music of Colors” at the Philharmonie de Paris, extending the dialogue between sound and visual expression into a sacred space steeped in history.
The evening unfolded as a rare symphony of senses, where sonic vibrations intertwined with the tactile brilliance of Noury’s paintings. Each note seemed to awaken a hue, each brushstroke echoed in melody, creating an immersive experience that captivated the audience.
The Quatuor Drémise’s refined performance invited listeners to journey beyond sound, while Noury’s chromatic visions opened pathways into the emotional landscapes of color. Together, they crafted a living canvas of music and art—an encounter that promised discovery, wonder and shared creativity.
“Music and Color” was not merely a concert or an exhibition; it was a dialogue of disciplines, a celebration of the timeless bond between auditory and visual imagination. In the heart of Paris, within the ancient walls of Saint Denys de la Chapelle, the event became a testament to the power of collaboration—where culture, space and emotion converged to offer a moment of profound resonance.
The Quatuor Drémise, with their mastery of melodic resonance, guided the audience through the diverse world of string instruments, while Larissa Noury’s tactile colors illuminated the dialogue between auditory and visual art. Together, they created a living symphony where brushstrokes became echoes and notes became hues.
The Resonance of Color in Music
The atmosphere at Church of Saint Denys de la Chapelle was imbued with wonder, as the dialogue between music and painting seemed to echo the eloquent reflections of Antoine Garrigues, professor of improvisation and music history.
“Talking about color or coloration in music is quite complex. We often say that a particular instrumentalist has a beautiful color, we speak of harmonic or orchestral color, but defining this concept remains much more difficult,” he observed, reminding us of the subtle mystery that lies within sound.
This mystery, however, is not new. In Antiquity, the philosopher Platon laid the foundations of melodic and harmonic coloration, envisioning music as a vessel of sensation. He established delicate correspondences between modes, poetic genres and the circumstances of their use, revealing how tonal shades could shape human emotion and experience. In this lineage, music becomes more than resonance—it becomes a prism of color, a language of nuance that bridges philosophy, art and the ineffable beauty of perception.
Within classical music, color emerges through surprise and modulation, those tonal shifts that break uniformity and infuse compositions with vibrancy. To speak of harmonic and melodic colors is to recognize the composer’s gift of painting with sound, layering unexpected hues into the score. Olivier Messiaen, however, sought to go further—defining the relationship between sound and color with near-scientific precision, translating auditory phenomena into chromatic visions that blurred disciplinary boundaries.
Music, abstract by nature, became a profound source for the birth of a new aesthetic language: abstraction in painting. Just as tones dissolve into harmonies, colors dissolve into forms, each discipline echoing the other. In this dialogue between sound and sight, music reveals itself not only as an art of resonance but as a prism through which the very idea of color finds new meaning.
Music to Be Seen: The Birth of Chromatic Abstraction
At the dawn of the 20th century, a profound shift stirred within the minds of visionary painters. Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, František Kupka, Franz Marc, and Paul Klee began to question the traditional bond between painting and representation, seeking liberation from the mere reproduction of visible reality. In its place, they embraced dynamic, symbolic, and imaginary forms—expressions that transcended the tangible world and opened new pathways into the realm of abstraction.
Music became their guiding muse, a wellspring of inspiration that allowed them to conceive canvases as chromatic symphonies. Colors were no longer passive shades but active voices, resonating like chords, vibrating with tonal ranges, and unfolding in mysterious compositions. This new subjectivity, rich with infinite resonances, gradually took hold on the canvas, transforming painting into a language of rhythm and harmony.
Paul Klee, a masterful colorist, exemplified this union of sound and sight. With delicate precision, he orchestrated lines and points as melodic elements, weaving visual harmonies that echoed the structure of music. His colors sang as distinct voices in a composition, creating what could only be described as music to be seen—a radiant dialogue between the ear and the eye, between abstraction and emotion.
A Luminous Finale
Visitors from Paris and distant corners of the world—Spain, Bulgaria, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and beyond—joined in a shared chorus of admiration, their applause echoing long after the final note.
A radiant union of music and painting– “Music & Color” concluded as a luminous bridge of creativity—uniting cultures, senses and hearts in shared admiration.
