Albert Magnus Steps Out of The Lab To Watch A Parade Go By

from Potions by The Alchemists

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    POTIONS, the debut studio album of The Alchemists, features improvised, melodic, multi-genre music. Comes in a transmutated jewel case created by the Philosopher’s Stone, liner notes by Emperor Rudolph II and dowsed with original art. Follow the alchemical storyline that frames the album at individual track pages. A CD Baby Editors’ Pick.

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about

THE UNFOLDING TALE - TRACK 12

Albert, aka Albertus Magnus (the CD uses a moshed-up version of his name), was a 13th century German scientist/philosopher/theologian, scholar of Aristotle, member of the Dominican Order, canonized in 1931, known for his wide-ranging knowledge. Though rumored to have studied alchemy, he apparently was not a practitioner - but he did favor experimentation as a path to knowledge.

In this narrative, Rudolph II (Track 1) wants him to act as a steady hand on the more imaginative members of the group he summons. Since it was exhausting keeping tabs on what everyone else was doing, no wonder he wandered out of the lab at some point to catch a passing parade of circus performers.

Of course, for Albert to be around centuries after his birth implies he had stumbled on or had been given the Elixir of Life (Track 10). This means he would have witnessed the unfolding of the Protestant Reformation earlier in the 16th century. But he was in no danger in the court of a nominally Catholic Hapsburg like Rudolph, all the more so since the Emperor was neither a practicing Catholic nor open to Protestant theology. If anything might have put Albert off, it would have been Rudolph’s humanist indifference to religion.

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You are invited to respond to questions asked in a track narrative, point out significant factual errors in any narratives and, of course, comment on the music itself. To address alchemical issues, send a message via Contact The Alchemists. Material used will be acknowledged. To comment on music you need to buy the CD and have a Bandcamp Fan Account.

For more info about the album and the narrative used to frame it after the recording was made, go to the Potions home page.

credits

from Potions, released December 13, 2015
Tom Hall - Tenor Saxophone
Jerry Leake - Percussion
Dennis Livingston - Flute, Sopranino and Alto Recorders
Bob Nieske - Bass
Randy Roos - Guitar

Full bios are at the Potions home page.

Recorded, mixed & mastered by Randy Roos at Squam Sound, Ashland, NH
Graphic Design by John Colan
Artwork by Chris Gill
Produced and liner notes written by Dennis Livingston

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The Alchemists Boston, Massachusetts

Improvised, melody-driven, inventively original songs. Blues, Latin rhythms, Indian beats, chamber music and other far-flung genres. Wild outbursts of sound. All woven into unexpected compositions.
“Each of The Alchemists improvs on Journey To The East is like a circus act of music, teasing the listener with suspense about what kind of feat will come next.” Steve Elman, critic for The Arts Fuse ... more

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