"Alla Polacca" is the title of the first Polish album containing Polish music for the guitar-harp duo. The pieces on the album were recorded by the unique ACh Duo, formed by guitarist Aleksander Pankowski vel Jankowski, a graduate of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and harpist Noemi Hańczyk, a graduate student at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław. The premiere of the album, released by the Association for Polish Guitar Music Development under the small great music (QBK) record company, will take place on 15 January 2021.
The name of the disc is inspired by the title of one of the parts of Suite in modo polonico by Alexandre Tansman, which was included on the album in an original arrangement for guitar and harp, made by the composer himself. The recording of Suite is the very first full recording of this piece in the world – it was never fully recorded after its creation. The album also contains original transcriptions of Fryderyk Chopin's works arranged by Anna Wołowczyk (Prelude in D flat major, Op. 28 No. 15) and by the performers themselves (Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2). The entire publication is complemented by compositions played solo by the artists – Grzegorz Jurczyk's Fogbound Mountains for guitar (2013) and Roman Ryterband's Deux images for harp (1943).
The artists of Ach Duo began their collaboration in 2012 during their studies at the Feliks Nowowiejski Music School Complex in Szczecin under the guidance of guitarist Piotr Pałac. Ever since, the duo has been winning recognition at national and international festivals. In 2018 the musicians intensified their collaboration, which led to their current achievements, including 1st place at the International Harp Competition Suoni d’Arpa in Saluzzo (Italy, 2018), as well as 2nd place at the International Harp Competition Marcel Tournier in Cosenza (Italy, 2018) and 3rd place at the II International Guitar Competition "Ida Presti" in Samobor (Croatia, 2020) that came with the special audience prize of a recital in Croatia in 2021. The duo’s repertoire features both harp and guitar pieces by such composers as Alexandre Tansman and Máximo Diego Pujol and their own musical arrangements. The unusual combination of musical instruments and the original repertoire define ACh Duo’s uniqueness as the only ensemble of its kind actively performing in Poland.
The album is co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund as part of The "Musical trace" program implemented by the Institute of Music and Dance.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
More information: www.AChDuo.com; https://facebook.com/AChDuo