Nicholas Lens

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Nicholas Lens, born on November 14, 1957, in Ypres, is a contemporary Belgian author and composer.

He studied violin, double bass, and trumpet in conservatories in Brussels for most of his life. He began studying violin with his godfather, at the age of 5. Nicholas Lens lives, together with his daughter Clara Lane, in Brussels.

Among other works of his, his most important and famous is probably his Trilogy "The Accacha Chronicles," (also known as "The Akasha Chronicles") which consists of the following three parts:

Part I: Flamma Flamma - The Fire Requiem (1994)
Part II: Terra Terra - The Aquarius Era (1999)
Part III: Amor Aeternus - Hymns Of Love (2005)

The total duration of the "Accacha Chronicles" is about 5 hours and 20 minutes. It fuses international sounds, riveting rock, and fierce vocals into a fairly diverse piece of work, with each album having a different musical focus. Lens has said that he intended "The Acchacha Chronicles" to be a philosophical work, detailing a storyline along with its themes. Acchacha, Lens says in his interview, is "a mythical name, half-invented, half-existing. It stands a reference book in which gods can find intimate details of all lives of human mortals. I used it 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." The Chronicles themselves 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.

Lens' 1994 publication of "Flamma Flamma - The Fire Requiem" earned him international acclaim. An operatic work featuring vocalists such as (as credited) Claron McFadden, La Verne Williams, Gary Boyce, Zeger Vandersteene, Henk Lauwers, and Marcello Rosca, the work 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 the Bulgarian Women's Choir, known in the requiem as "The Fireflies," and an unusual rhythmic accompaniment. The lyrics, all in Latin were written by Herman Portocarero, a Belgian author.

The track listing for "Flamma Flamma - The Fire Requiem" is as follows: