Agrippa's 3 Books, by Edmund Welles: the bass clarinet quartet

Agrippa's 3 Books

by Edmund Welles: the bass clarinet quartet

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Carsten Pieper As told before: Got to get them all! This is bass clarinet heaven, er, hell, purgatory? Anyways...
This is there debut where they fearlessly cover Black Sabbath, Sepultura and Spinal Tap!
And: Dark masters of the bass clarinet, behold! Among the bonus stuff you'll get another quartet sheet printout to grind your teeth into! Favorite track: Into the Void.

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

BONUS ITEMS:
download includes items previously only available on the limited edition Agrippa's Companion
-- Complete (extensive) Liner Notes in printable booklet format (newly formatted)
-- PDF of the Complete Quartet Sheet Music (four bass clarinet parts) for movement II. The Black Lodge
-- 16-page paper Cornelius wrote in 1994 on Renaissance occultism and music

Purchasable with gift card

$9 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Original 2005 Pressing. 6-Panel Deluxe Digipak with 20 pp. Booklet.
Art and Design by Theresa Wong & Cornelius Boots.
The Philosophical and Musical Depth of Occult Heavy Chamber Music.

Includes unlimited streaming of Agrippa's 3 Books via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 7 days

edition of 1000

$21 USD or more
Full Digital Discography

8

releases

Get all 8 Edmund Welles: the bass clarinet quartet releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Live at Old First Church, October 6, 2006, Unreleased Masterworks, Hymns for Christmas, Imagination Lost, Tooth & Claw, Agrippa's 3 Books, O Mysterium [demo-album], and Gods Help Us All [demo-album]. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

$49.50 USD or more (25% OFF)

1.	Prelude: The Conspiracy Manifests 01:19	info	buy track
2.	I. Cause & Effect 04:50	info	buy track
3.	II. The Black Lodge 07:13	info	buy track
4.	III. Corso v. Torchia 06:30	info	buy track
5.	IIII. Asmodëus: The Destroyer, King of the Demons 07:05	info	buy track
6.	Postlude: Aphel, die Schwarze Schlange 01:50	info	buy track
7.	Into the Void 06:17	info	buy track
8.	Roots Bloody Roots 03:38	info	buy track
9.	Big Bottom 03:39	info	buy track

about

An unprecedented occult exploration of deep, dense, pulsating low woodwind music from the world's only composing bass clarinet quartet, the sole proprietors of heavy chamber music.

HEAVY CHAMBER MUSIC, MUZAK FOR CONSPIRACY THEORISTS.
EDMUND WELLES: THE BASS CLARINET QUARTET's debut CD, Agrippa's 3 Books, explores the expressive extremes of the four bass clarinets, inspired by occult philosophy heavy metal music.

Mixed and mastered by Grammy award-winning sound alchemist, Oz Fritz (Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Primus), the sonorous timbre of this potent instrumentation takes woodwind chamber music into the realm of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Melt-Banana.

Agrippa's 3 Books, features the piece of the same name (commissioned by Chamber Music America), composed by founding member, Cornelius Boots, as well as a classic metal trilogy of cover tunes from Black Sabbath, Sepultura, and Spinal Tap.

This album comes in Deluxe packaging (designed by Theresa Wong) including a 24-page booklet detailing connections between the occult, sound, the bass clarinet and various influences on the composition and performance.

"There are patterns whose configuration mimes the harmony of the universe: a kind of ultra-sound, to establish contact with the subterranean currents."

"All the frequencies I respond to."
--Tom Waits about Edmund Welles

What the press said about the first Edmund Welles album, Agrippa's 3 Books:

"This strange thing may be the most original and total use of the clarinet yet recorded. Steeped in arcane symbols, clever wit and skilled musicianship, Agrippa’s 3 Books defies all expectations of the range of its featured instrument. Despite the dense philosophies expounded in the accompanying booklet, the Edmund Welles quartet is hardly a somber experiment, calling forth honks, buzzes, beeps, hums, the stormy grind of a heavy-metal guitar, and the bluesy cry of a saxophone all from the clarinet’s throat. It surges in staccato bursts and slows to a vintage vibrato, demanding attention, irritating if left as mere background music. If there’s such a thing as in-your-face classical, this would be it, deft and tricky, nervy yet polite. Includes diverse and astute references to David Lynch, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Black Sabbath, and Spinal Tap."
--Gothic Beauty Magazine, Issue 24

"The music itself matches the titles well, consistently out of kilter, full of disarmingly quirky juxtapositions and rhythmic surprises. Boots has an inventively playful take on his material, and the unforeseen turns that the music makes are both highly sophisticated and highly entertaining, even more fun than the program notes lead us to expect. For fans of new music and/or heavy metal, Boots\' original voice is not to be missed."
--allmusic.com

"Edmund Welles: the bass clarinet quartet, really is unique. Their intricate, classically arranged but sometimes rock-inflected clarinet music--BASS clarinet music--transports the listener into a special state of mind, where strange notions flower. It\'s all fairly indescribable."
--John Shirley's Edge Trends Online Magazine

"You might call it 'clarinet rock.' If the clarinet brings up painful, high school band memories, this album is an absolute must. And if it doesn't, still, this album is a must. Never have you heard the clarinet take on so much attitude, so much angst, so much personality. Mixing in styles and approaches from contemporary classical writing to jazz to just good old rock 'n roll licks, Edmund Welles's album, "Agrippa's 3 Books," wins the award for capturing the most imagination and making the most out of one instrument family. Just listen."
--CD Baby, Online Featured Release of 2005

credits

released August 6, 2005

bass clarinetist, composer, recordist, arranger……..Cornelius Boots
mixing & mastering engineer…………………………..Oz Fritz
graphics and layouts………………………….....….....Theresa Wong
photographer……………………………………………Ralph Granich

mixed at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, CA June 23, 2005
mastered at In The Pocket Studios in Forestville, CA June 29, 2005
manufactured by Bellwether in Bloomington, IN
all music and arrangements © 2005 zeroth law, except where indicated

license

Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

about

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Edmund Welles: the bass clarinet quartet Oakland, California

Edmund Welles has the distinction of being the world’s only original, composing band of four bass clarinetist: they invent and perform heavy chamber music. Drawing virtuosic precision from the classical realm; innovation and texture from jazz; and power, rhythm and overall perspective from rock and metal, the quartet’s sound is characterized by a thickness of tone and absolute rhythmic prowess. ... more

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