The Accacha Chronicles
Encyclopedia
The Accacha Chronicles is an opera
tic trilogy
by Nicholas Lens
(2005) for Soprano
, Tenor
, Counter-tenor, Mezzo-soprano
, Baritone
, Bass, male actor, small choir
, mixed choir and chamber orchestra.
International, Mainz
/New York
) earned him international acclaim. It may be Lens' most important and famous work.
The Chronicles detail a three part tale where some eccentric gods visit Earth, once in each album, to find some entertainment by watching the humans. They become fascinated by their actions and reaction, and begin to imitate them in order to understand them and their emotions.
The first part captures the western concept of a requiem
while at the same time abandoning the traditional rich chords
and free, rubato meter of a cathedral work. Instead, each of the voices has a soloistic line, accompanied not by sostenuto
chords, but by a piercing trio
from Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares
, known in the Chronicles as "The Fireflies
," and an unusual rhythmic accompaniment.
The lyrics of the first part "Flamma Flamma
", all in Latin
were written by the author (and Belgian ambassador to Jamaica
) Herman Portocarero. The lyrics (in Latin
) of the two other parts ("Terra Terra
" and "Amor Aeternus
") were written by Lens himself.
, Claron McFadden
, La Verne Williams, Ian Honeyman, Jean-Paul Fauchechourt, Henk Lauwers
and Marcello Rosca and the Bulgarian
Voices Angelite.
version of The Accacha Chronicles of about 5 hours and 20 minutes which is very different -more complex in rhythm and tonality (much more a-tonal) than the CD-versions. This version was published in 2006 by Schott Music
International (Mainz
/New York
) but did not premiere yet.
"Accacha," Lens says in an interview , "is a mythical name, half-invented, half-existing. It stands for a reference book in which gods can find intimate details of all lives of human mortals. I used it because it is in a way reflecting what the main characters in this piece, the gods, are up to. And I like the sound of the word."
About the story: "A bunch of eccentric gods decide to visit earth, in totally 3 times. Their visit has no special character, except maybe that they’re always in for some funny entertainment or distraction. And apparently the gods seem to be fascinated by the mortals and their behaviour, especially by their reactions on dramatic events like death, birth and love. So they imitate the mortals trying to literally feel what it is like to be confronted with typically human shortcomings or moods, with human sadness or joy, with human loss, death or birth. The natural wheel of life must obviously fascinate the gods, as everything which is limited in time becomes much more intensive, and they’re not used to those limitations. Isn’t it a fact that as death sneaks around every corner, it creates fear and angst, of course, but it feeds as well the necessary strength and the courage mortals need to make something of the time they have."
About the studio and the live version: "You could say that the CD –version is the light version of the actual extended work, with only melodic-tonal parts, call it the jeans version if you want, while the live-version is more a theatrical-dramatized concept, the orchestration –purely acoustic- is more complex in rhythm and tonality, there’s another sort of tension which needs more time to develop and to grow, so it is different as it is raising slower in it’s construction."
from Fane, Papua New Guinea
. Lady Simona Noorenbergh
was a grandaunt of Nicholas Lens, living all her life in Papua New Guinea
. She was one of the founders of the small mountain village called Fane deep in the Papuan jungle. Lens visited Fane twice. Once totally unexpectedly, the second time to bury her after she crashed with a Norman Islander-plane against the top of a mountain of the Papuan Central Province during a typhoon. Lens was very much shocked by this event. Shortly after this accident he started writing this trilogy
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
by Nicholas Lens
Nicholas Lens
Nicholas Lens is a contemporary Belgian author and composer.Lens was born in Ypres near the French border in Flanders, Belgium. His godfather taught him violin when he was five. He studied trumpet and double-bass, first at local academies and then at Royal conservatories. Later on he studied viola...
(2005) for Soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, Tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, Counter-tenor, Mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
, Baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, Bass, male actor, small choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, mixed choir and chamber orchestra.
Reception
Lens' publication of The Accacha Chronicles (published by Schott MusicSchott 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 currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
International, Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
/New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) earned him international acclaim. It may be Lens' most important and famous work.
Structure
The Accacha Chronicles consists of three parts:- Part I: Flamma FlammaFlamma FlammaFlamma Flamma - The Fire Requiem is a musical work 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...
- The Fire RequiemRequiemA Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
(1994) (BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
Classics 74321 697172 - Sony Classical (SK 66293) - Part II: Terra TerraTerra TerraTerra Terra -The Aquarius Era is a musical work by Nicholas Lens. It is the second part of the operatic trilogy The Accacha Chronicles.The work follows on the successful first partFlamma Flamma...
- The Aquarius EraEraAn era is a commonly used word for long period of time. When used in science, for example geology, eras denote clearly defined periods of time of arbitrary but well defined length, such as for example the Mesozoic era from 252 Ma–66 Ma, delimited by a start event and an end event. When used in...
(1999) (BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
Classics 74321 697182) - Part III: Amor AeternusAmor AeternusAmor Aeternus - Hymns of Love is a musical work by Nicholas Lens. It is the third part of the operatic trilogy The Accacha Chronicles.The work follows on the parts Flamma Flamma and Terra Terra...
- HymnHymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s of Love (2005), (Sony BMG 82876 66238 2)
The Chronicles detail a three part tale where some eccentric gods visit Earth, once in each album, to find some entertainment by watching the humans. They become fascinated by their actions and reaction, and begin to imitate them in order to understand them and their emotions.
The first part captures the western concept of a requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
while at the same time abandoning the traditional rich chords
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
and free, rubato meter of a cathedral work. Instead, each of the voices has a soloistic line, accompanied not by sostenuto
Sostenuto
In music, sostenuto is a term from Italian which means "sustained." It occasionally implies a slowing of tempo, though more often it refers to a very legato style in which the notes are performed in a sustained manner beyond their normal values....
chords, but by a piercing trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
from Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares
Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares
The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir is an internationally renowned World Music ensemble that blends traditional six-part a cappella repertoire with modern arrangements. It is most recognized under their contribution to Marcel Cellier's Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares project...
, known in the Chronicles as "The Fireflies
Fireflies
Fireflies is a novel by Shiva Naipaul originally published in 1970. It was his first book, a comic novel set in Trinidad. In an essay in An Unfinished Journey, Naipaul described how in 1968 as a final year student at Oxford University studying Chinese, he had been moved to write down a sentence,...
," and an unusual rhythmic accompaniment.
The lyrics of the first part "Flamma Flamma
Flamma Flamma
Flamma Flamma - The Fire Requiem is a musical work 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...
", all in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
were written by the author (and Belgian ambassador to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
) Herman Portocarero. The lyrics (in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
) of the two other parts ("Terra Terra
Terra Terra
Terra Terra -The Aquarius Era is a musical work by Nicholas Lens. It is the second part of the operatic trilogy The Accacha Chronicles.The work follows on the successful first partFlamma Flamma...
" and "Amor Aeternus
Amor Aeternus
Amor Aeternus - Hymns of Love is a musical work by Nicholas Lens. It is the third part of the operatic trilogy The Accacha Chronicles.The work follows on the parts Flamma Flamma and Terra Terra...
") were written by Lens himself.
Studio version
The studio-version (3 hours and 44 minutes released by Sony BMG 82876 66239 2) of this operatic work features vocalists such as (as credited) Derek Lee RaginDerek Lee Ragin
Derek Lee Ragin is an American countertenor.Ragin studied as a piano major at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While at Oberlin he took secondary voice lessons with Richard Anderson. He began his operatic career at Oberlin in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream as Oberon...
, Claron McFadden
Claron McFadden
Claron McFadden is an American soprano. McFadden studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, finishing her degree in 1984....
, La Verne Williams, Ian Honeyman, Jean-Paul Fauchechourt, Henk Lauwers
Henk Lauwers
Henk Lauwers is a classical baritone singer , born in Ypres, Belgium in 1956As a very young boy soprano Lauwers performed under direction of Benjamin Britten his War Requiem. Later he studied classical flute but gained international fame as a classical baritone singer...
and Marcello Rosca and the Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
Voices Angelite.
Live operatic version
In 2005 Lens recently rewrote an operatic acousticAcoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
version of The Accacha Chronicles of about 5 hours and 20 minutes which is very different -more complex in rhythm and tonality (much more a-tonal) than the CD-versions. This version was published in 2006 by Schott Music
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 currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
International (Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
/New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) but did not premiere yet.
Nicholas Lens on The Accacha Chronicles
Lens has said that he intended The Accacha Chronicles to be a philosophical work, detailing a storyline along with its themes."Accacha," Lens says in an interview , "is a mythical name, half-invented, half-existing. It stands for a reference book in which gods can find intimate details of all lives of human mortals. I used it because it is in a way reflecting what the main characters in this piece, the gods, are up to. And I like the sound of the word."
About the story: "A bunch of eccentric gods decide to visit earth, in totally 3 times. Their visit has no special character, except maybe that they’re always in for some funny entertainment or distraction. And apparently the gods seem to be fascinated by the mortals and their behaviour, especially by their reactions on dramatic events like death, birth and love. So they imitate the mortals trying to literally feel what it is like to be confronted with typically human shortcomings or moods, with human sadness or joy, with human loss, death or birth. The natural wheel of life must obviously fascinate the gods, as everything which is limited in time becomes much more intensive, and they’re not used to those limitations. Isn’t it a fact that as death sneaks around every corner, it creates fear and angst, of course, but it feeds as well the necessary strength and the courage mortals need to make something of the time they have."
About the studio and the live version: "You could say that the CD –version is the light version of the actual extended work, with only melodic-tonal parts, call it the jeans version if you want, while the live-version is more a theatrical-dramatized concept, the orchestration –purely acoustic- is more complex in rhythm and tonality, there’s another sort of tension which needs more time to develop and to grow, so it is different as it is raising slower in it’s construction."
Dedication
Nicholas Lens dedicated the entire trilogy to a certain lady Simona NoorenberghSimona Noorenbergh
Sister Simona Noorenbergh was a Belgian-born religious leader and community organizer.She was born in Ypres, Belgium in 1907...
from Fane, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Lady Simona Noorenbergh
Simona Noorenbergh
Sister Simona Noorenbergh was a Belgian-born religious leader and community organizer.She was born in Ypres, Belgium in 1907...
was a grandaunt of Nicholas Lens, living all her life in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. She was one of the founders of the small mountain village called Fane deep in the Papuan jungle. Lens visited Fane twice. Once totally unexpectedly, the second time to bury her after she crashed with a Norman Islander-plane against the top of a mountain of the Papuan Central Province during a typhoon. Lens was very much shocked by this event. Shortly after this accident he started writing this trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
.