Friends since their teenage years, Polish instrumentalists Hania Rani and Dobrawa Czocher have worked together on numerous projects; as musicians with similar interests and compatible talents, that much would only make sense. But what's new for the pair—who now release their debut collection of collaboratively-penned original material—is the context in which they present their work.
The youngest duo signed to Germany's enormously prestigious Deutsche Grammophon, Rani and Czocher have, with the highly immersive and deeply heartfelt Inner Symphonies, released a collection of compositions that are at once both timeless and distinctly contemporary. Pairing Czocher's richly harmonious swells of cello with Rani's haunting piano parts, Inner Symphonies is a record that evokes a peculiarly liminal set of emotions—a certain nostalgia, perhaps, for events and times that one can never quite put their finger on. Regardless of exactly what Inner Symphonies might represent to any given listener, its sheer beauty is unquestionable—as is the expertise with which it's performed.
Though coloured vinyl tends to be more readily associated with the realms of pop and rock than that of contemporary composition, Deutsche Grammophon have opted to issue Inner Symphonies on both standard black wax and as a limited edition run of three hundred copies on red vinyl. It's the latter edition that we're looking at here—which is certainly a treat, as the LPs' stark colouring offers an appealing visual flare to an already attractively-presented vinyl release.
The records have been manufactured to impressive standards; both sit flat and warp-free on the platter during playback, with their surfaces also boasting glossy, lustrous sheens that speak of a real attention to detail in the manufacturing process. This fastidiousness is reflected in the audio itself; Inner Symphonies' mastering is excellent across its full runtime, with an immersive soundstage that lends a full-bodied heft to its deeper tones and a glistering subtlety to its higher frequencies.
Playback is likewise excellent, with all four sides boasting low noise floors and surfaces free of anything but the most infrequent of surface noises, none of which are the least bit intrusive in the case of our copy. Also worthy of note is the fact that these LPs have been pressed at 45 rpm; relatively few contemporary full-length album releases are cut at this speed, even when doing so would be possible. That's certainly a shame, as 45 rpm records are well-known to have a greater potential dynamic range than records cut at 33 rpm. That's a fact attested to by this release—which, though it would likely have sounded great even at 33 rpm, more than makes use of the extra quality available to it having been pressed at 45 rpm.
One commonality in the presentation of surely all of Deutsche Grammophon's innumerable releases lies in the label's now-iconic logo; it represents a certain seal of quality—to such an extent, in fact, that its mere presence on any given title is enough to lend the album in question a certain rarefied air. Present and correct in the top right hand corner of Inner Symphonies' handsome gatefold cover, the symbol bestows the album's presentation a certain understated elevation entirely in-keeping with its minimalistic layout and classy monochrome photography. Replete with high-quality poly-lined inner sleeves—thoughtfully included by the label so as to avoid the scuffing that can so-often occur when a release is packaged in sleeves of plain paper—this is a title presented as thoughtfully as one might expect from a release in the Deutsche Grammophon catalogue. An immersive journey into an idiosyncratic musical realm, Hania Rani & Dobrawa Czocher's Inner Symphonies is a commanding listen that has, in its vinyl edition, been lent a physical release of the utmost quality.
