Search - Nicholas Lens :: Flamma Flamma: Fire Requiem

One of my most intriguing buys ever!

08/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I never could have guessed at what I was buying (it just happened to be on sale and I took a chance) and could not have been more pleasantly surprised after my second listen (the first time I just didn't know what to think). This is so different than anything I have ever heard before and I've listened to all kinds of music. 'Flamma, Flamma' puts to work a sextet of operatic singers, 3 other undefinable singers (that represent the three fates), a chorus (usually men) and a variety of synthetic effects. The range of mood is wide, from morose to almost celebratory. The incredible thing about this work is how it takes seemingly incompatable elments (for example - opera singers and techno industrial conventions) and makes them work. I would be sincerely surprised if sections of this work did not make your pulse quicken. There is plenty of room for both the beautiful and the bizarre in this work. I'm a masters somewhat leaning toward the avantgarde composition student and I loved it, my mother is a hardcore traditionalist and she loved it. I can't wait to hear a follow up to this from Mr. Lens."

But don't listen to it by yourself in the dark...

Julie Hammerle | Chicago, IL United States | 11/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow! While this piece can initially be beyond comprehension, with a second look it proves beautiful and mystifying. I first heard a few movements of Flamma Flamma during a performance of Agamemnon and, though I found the music disturbing, it has haunted me ever since. The bass and soprano are sublime. I highly recommend giving this recording a first and then a second look."

Rewriting the latin tradition

Julie Hammerle | 02/27/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps difficult at first approach, Lens' Flamma Flamma Requiem juxtaposes a wide array of contemporary, traditional and classical sounds in this work. Cleverly, Lens relies on a contemporary text, in Latin, to ground his musical exploration in the long-held linguistic tradition of the Requiem mass while parting from the proper of the mass to explore a contemporary vision of the Requiem theme. The result is amazing. Vocal solos dialog with the earthy sound of "les voix Bulgares," and the third movement might be the only time you will ever find yourself dancing to a Requiem! Lens' Fire Requiem is a must."