“Son baryton a des lumières de ténor (...) l’oreille étant saisie par l’animation des mots et la mobilité des notes (...) avec cette voix qui sonne « naturelle », les ornements des da capo ont l’air de procéder d’un pur instinct, guidé par l’affect du moment (...) Croqué à pleines dents, le texte dégouline de saveurs (...) des qualités de ferveur et de fantaisie peu communes.”
(Diapason Magazine).
Baritone, harpsichordist, lutenist, harpist and conductor, Nicolas Achten (Brussels, °1985) made a name for himself in the world of early music at a very young age: laureate of the VIIth International Baroque Singing Competition of Chimay in 2006, he was elected classical artist of the year 2009 at the Octaves de la Musique and "Young Musician of the Year Award 2009" by the Union of the Belgian Music Press.
Nicolas Achten studied singing, lute, harpsichord, ancient harp and conducting at the Royal Conservatories of Brussels and The Hague; he completed his training during various masterclasses, notably at the Académie baroque d'Ambronay and the Centre de la Voix de Royaumont.
Since 2004, he has been invited by prestigious early music ensembles, including l'Arpeggiata, la Fenice, La Petite Bande, Ausonia, les Agrémens, Akadêmia, Les Talens Lyriques, Il Fondamento, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Il Seminario Musicale, le Poème Harmonique, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Ensemble Phoenix Munich, and under the direction of conductors such as Jean Tubéry, Sigiswald Kuijken, Marc Minkowski, Christophe Rousset, and René Jacobs.
Today he is one of the few classical singers to accompany himself, reviving the historical practice. Eager to deepen this approach and to put his research into practice, he founded the ensemble Scherzi Musicali, whose concerts throughout Europe and 13 recordings have met with the unanimous enthusiasm of the public and the international press (Diapason d'or, Diapason découverte, Choc de Classica, Joker de Crescendo, La Clef de ResMusica, Prelude Classics Award, Muse d'Or, Ring de Classique Info, "Outstanding" in the International Record Review, Prix Cæcilia...).
On the side, Nicolas also explores atypical encounters, in a duo with the folk accordionist Didier Laloy, or in a trio with the jazz saxophonist Manu Hermia or the pop/rock singer Kris Dane.
Nicolas Achten is a professor of early music singing and lute, and teaches temperaments and tuning at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He was musical director of the Muziektheater Transparant summer courses from 2007 to 2015, and is regularly invited for masterclasses throughout Europe (Operastudio Vlaanderen, SIMAW in Namur, University of East Anglia, the Yorke Trust in Norfolk, Conservatorio Milano, ...).