''Flamma Flamma – The Fire Requiem'' is a music drama by Nicholas Lens. It is the first part of the operatic trilogy The Accacha Chronicles. The work was artistically and financially produced by the composer himself and gained international fame when Sony Classical bought the rights in 1994 for worldwide distribution.

''Time'' magazine quote

According to ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, Flamma Flamma is among those compositions of contemporary classic music "breaking down the established divisions between popular and so-called serious music" as " th its visceral strength and sustained emotional drive, Flamma Flamma has won a loyal audience and critical favor."MEMENTO MORI
. Time Inc, 1995. Retrieved on 23 February 2007.

Live performances and adaptations

*The American actor Frank Sheppard (picture) performed the part of the Gédé at the first creation of ''Flamma Flamma'' in a spooky

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 1993. *In 1998 ''Flamma Flamma'' was created with 2,000 participants for an audience of 30,000 people in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at the opening night of the

Adelaide Festival of Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

Elder Park Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace, Adelaide, North Terrace. It is part of Park 26 of t ...

(Festival

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

: Robin Archer). *''fLamma fLamma'' (1995) is the title of a short film based on the titletrack of ''Flamma Flamma'' by N. Lens, directed by Jan Bultheel, produced by Pix & Motion. The film was shown on MTV and Arte. It was the first time Sony Classical had a music track of one of his artists playing on the popular MTV-channel. Today, the video for "Flamma Flamma" still gets sporadic airplay on MTV European's late night eclectic show "Chill Out Zone". The score has been used a numerous times for art-firework-performances and hundreds of

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

creations all over the world. Lens, who considers himself (in interviews) more a fan of severe

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...

and moving theatre (Lens is Belgian born and has been influenced by the contemporary

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

- Belgian dance scene), was not always happy with these adaptations. More than ten years after the original creation Nicholas Lens rewrote the score completely. This new,

operatic Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and more extended and purely acoustic version, which seems far more complex in rhythm and tonality (read: a-tonality), -published in 2005 by

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second-oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were foun ...

International (

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

/New York) as first part of ' The Accacha Chronicles'- did not premiere yet. In 1995

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

Classical USA released an American cover version of the work. Sony Classical USA considered that the European cover, based on the

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

(France), (originally a huge painting by the Japanese/Belgian artist Peter Bal) was too ''intellectual'' and ''arty'' for the American market. The American cover with the doubled

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...

angel face was designed by the New York artist Amy Guip. The change of cover was criticised in the American press.

Track listing

# Hic Iacet I (5:41) # Hic Iacet II (9:07) # Sumus Vicinae (4:57) # Tegite Specula (6:06) # Complorate Filiae (4:13) # Vale Frater (4:12) # Amice Mi (4:39) # Corpus Inimici (5:25) # Deliciae Meae (4:54) # Flamma Flamma (3:17) # Ave Ignis (4:42) # In Corpore (4:58) # Agnus Purus (5:55) # Ardeat Ignis (7:18)

Credits

* First part of the operatic

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

by Nicholas Lens The Accacha Chronicles * Music & Concept: Nicholas Lens * Libretto: Herman Portocarero * Published by

International

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

* Released by

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

International 74321 697172 * Original release by

Classical SK 66293

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Nicholas Lens' Website
* ''Time'' magazin

* Schott Music Internationa

* Internet Movie Data Bas

* WBF

* Sony BMG https://web.archive.org/web/20060228202731/http://www.sonybmg.de/artists2.php?artist=187779 * Fan Page

Music dramas Compositions by Nicholas Lens Postmodern music Contemporary classical compositions 2005 operas