It’s Monday evening. The great hall of the Berlin Philharmonic is in total darkness, the last voices from the audience have fallen silent. A faint glimmer of light reveals a stage covered with a shimmering tarpaulin. As the light brightens, seven people take the stage to applause – including Polish pianist and composer Hania Rani and her seven-piece ensemble.
Darkness is not only a visual motif of this evening, but also runs through Rani’s current album »Ghosts«, which she will perform live in its entirety. It is a thoroughly composed concept album that narrates, questions and explores – without simple answers. An album that wants to be heard from the first to the last note. And what could be better than a concert at the Berlin Philharmonie?
Between light and loop
The concert begins darkly, with piercing electronic synth pads. What follows is a two-hour symbiosis of virtuosity and emotional chaos. The compositions are at times intimate and intense, then atmospheric and rapturous, before dissolving into meditative calm. Rani sits framed by a grand piano, an electric piano and a synthesizer – a kind of acoustic triangle in which she immerses herself, her hair falling in her face, her movements fast, almost trance-like.
Bluish-white light projections dance on the ceiling, are reflected in the tarpaulin on the stage, and glide through the room like ghostly figures. They emphasize what the music conveys: Restraint, fleetingness, mystery.
An intense confusion of emotions – curiosity, melancholy, joy, fear.
After a few pieces, Rani introduces her ensemble and quietly talks about her days as a student in Berlin, when she was often in the audience at the Philharmonie. To be on this stage herself now is a great honor – she seems genuinely touched. Her ensemble is also strikingly young, precise and tangibly integrated into the emotional architecture of the evening.
Back in her piano structure, Rani begins to sing in a delicate, clear voice. She uses live looping to build her vocal lines in real time into multi-layered soundscapes. Most impressively, she has never had classical vocal training, but has taught herself to sing.
Music as a collective trance
The audience goes into a collective trance. Goose bumps, tears, a smile. During »Nostalgia« a tear pools in the corner of your eye, during »Thin Line« it rolls quietly down your cheek. It is an intense mix of emotions – curiosity, melancholy, joy, fear. This is exactly what Rani wants to evoke: floating in the unknown, a melancholic reflection oscillating between light and shadow.
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With »Ghosts« Rani deals with existential themes – life, death, memory, loss. She circles around fear, but also around hope, the tiny light in the absolute darkness. This darkness returns as the last note fades. Then bright light. Musicians bow. Minutes of applause. A Monday evening that shows: Hania Rani does not seek the limelight – she creates spaces in which we can lose ourselves. And sometimes find ourselves again.
