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Raphael Weinroth-Browne
Worlds Within
(independent) - 2020
Michael Panontin
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Cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne may not be a household name, but more discerning listeners will recognize him as one-half of the Visit, a duo whose fusions of eastern and classical music are certainly worth checking out. The Ottawa-based Weinroth-Browne is nothing if not versatile, with a resume that ranges from modern chamber music compositions (the Beethoven-inspired 'Triumvirate (for 2 Cellos)', the four-cello/two-piano piece 'Shattered Dreams') to extended touring with Norwegian prog rockers Leprous.
Worlds Within is his first LP proper and follows a long line of classically tinged experimental music emanating from this country, a list that includes the likes of Esmerine, Those Who Walk Away, Sarah Neufeld and Sarah Page. In the case of Worlds Within, Weinroth-Browne touches on a wide range of influences, from progressive metal to the American cellist David Darling.
"Darling's albums Cello and Darkwood, which came out on ECM records in the early nineties, are long-time favourites of mine," he told CM. "Both seem to evoke nature (especially winter, in my opinion), and there is a starkness and austerity to them that is beautifully immersive and haunting. I think that the tone and musical language of Worlds Within owes a lot to those albums."
Though Weinroth-Browne stresses that there is little that would qualify Worlds Within as classical music, the ten tracks definitely feel like one cohesive piece, hardly unintentional, he admits, since "all of the pieces are written using the same tuning and, by extension, the same key (D minor/B-flat Lydian), and many sections share a similar harmonic progression".
A couple of starker, quieter pieces, 'Unending I' and 'Unending II', open and close the disc, serving to effectively bookend the more intense excursions that make up the bulk of Worlds Within. The opener dovetails nicely with the stunning 'From Within I', clearly the album's best segment and wisely chosen as the first video upload. From there, things turn more rhythmic, with some tracks - the excellent 'From Above' for one - approaching the jittery feel of John Adams' 'Shaker Loops'. By the time we reach the four 'Tumult' pieces, that rhythm has become quite literal, with the cellist taken to tapping on the bridge pickup and running the signal through a delay pedal, an effect he likens to electronically programmed drums.
Worlds Within is a fine addition to the classical/experimental genre.
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