Raphael Weinroth-Browne: Worlds Within
Raphael Weinroth-Browne

Raphael Weinroth-Browne's profile should continue to rise with the release of Worlds Within, the Ottawa-based cellist's first full-length record under his own name. His reputation has grown considerably during the past decade through involvement in a number of projects: The Visit, his dark chamber music duo with singer Heather Sita Black; Musk Ox, a progressive chamber folk trio featuring the cellist with classical guitarist Nathanael Larochette and violinist Evan Runge; and Kamancello, his East-meets-West World Music-styled duo with Kurdish kamanche player Shahriyar Jamshidi. While he's not an official member, Weinroth-Browne's also toured many times with the Norwegian prog-metal band Leprous.

Elements of each endeavour seep into Worlds Within, which, having been written, performed, and produced by the cellist, is a solo release in the fullest sense of the word. On the forty-minute release, he builds on the natural richness of his acoustic cello, a 2012 model built by Canadian luthier Raymond Schryer, using guitar amplifiers and effects pedals. The recording is sectioned into ten tracks but plays as a continuous, fully integrated piece that follows a clearly discernible arc, growing as it does from an initial seed and into high-energy, almost rave-like episodes before decompressing for its concluding stages. Don't be surprised if you find yourself hearing the cellist as a one-man techno outfit during some of the set's most intense passages.

While it is a solo recording, multiple cello voices, textures, and percussive treatments emerge during the performance; a rather Bach-like design enters into the presentation also when the introductory theme is followed by variations. Entering softly, “Unending I” imparts an initially calming quality in its elegiac mood and lamenting character. Chords repeat insistently until a strong solo voice emerges to deepen the mournful tone, the rapturous expression a naked outpouring of emotion by the cellist. A subtle yet noticeable shift occurs with the advent of “From Within I,” Weinroth-Browne using pizzicato for the lilting base to induce entrancement and effect the first stage in the work's incremental build. Reinforcing the work's semi-ecstatic character, melodic patterns often ascend before falling away, a move that creates powerful tension and release throughout.

The pace picks up dramatically as the fourth part, “From Above,” arrives, the material now moving at a gallop; the coupling of a syncopated rhythm pattern and the cello-produced simulation of a pumping bass drum also naturally adds to the feeling of forward thrust, while the hammering chords powering the episode suggest a metal influence. At the album's centre is the four-part “Tumult,” aptly titled in referencing the occasional fury of the material and the even faster tempo at which it's delivered. Never does Worlds Within feel more intoxicated than during these central movements, even if moments of regeneration occur alongside such attacks.

February 2020