August 18, 2013
The Alchemist Suite was presented in live performance at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Céret (France) on 17 August, 2013. The film screened in conjunction with the films of Agnes Varda and other works in film and new music. This third presentation of the Suite follows the premiere in Paris (31 March 2013) and Los Angeles (20 April 2013).
The Alchemist Suite is a collaborative work between myself (concept, text, libretto, film projection), composer Veronika Krausas, and bass-baritone Nicholas Isherwood. THE ALCHEMIST SUITE is an exploration of the arcane intersection between the practice of science and mystical spirituality within the legacy of Tibetan Bon, Judaism, and European occultism.
I have long been captivated by the awkward and contested intersections between science and mysticism. This crossroads is perhaps best illustrated by the pre-Enlightement chemists, called alchemists, whose attempts to create gold were intertwined with their pursuit of an elixir of immortality. While history has likened them to black magicians and farcical charlatans, they also advanced the fundamentals of modern chemisty.
More than a desire for transformation, these were humans who sought superhuman abilities. The frontiers of knowledge are the frontiers where mortals separate themselves from animals and gods. The alchemists challenged these frontiers: command and control over the elements, power over death and loss.
I looked to the original writings of Basil Valentine, Mirium Prophetissima, and Milarepa and gleaned a way of seeing existence that imagined the ultimate power of human over cosmos. At moments in the text, this is a quaint and laughable ambition. Yet there is a beauty and a longing that makes it an existential love song from beings locked in challenge towards a universe that contains – but does not explain – its mysteries.
Please check back for additional details and photos from the performance. Until then, here are a few stills from the film.
