Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 4/5 Stars
Back in 2020, Dave Stewart reviewed the original Poiesis Cello for Kontakt, from Sonora Cinematic, and he had a lot of very good things to say about it. Rather than straightforward cello notes, the library comprises atmospheric articulations performed by principal cellist Alan Black, so although the note might not change throughout the duration of a sample, the playing technique is often varied to give the samples an evolving, cinematic quality. Many of these character shifts differ from what you’d expect in a normal cello performance, including haunting harmonics, jittery bowing and horror‑movie bowing effects that sound more like a waterphone, but at the same time many of them layer well with more conventional string sounds. The original cello samples are unprocessed so the user has free rein over what effects to add. There are effects on board in addition to modulation facilities and filters.
Patches for Poiesis Cello 2 are arranged by category under Poiesis Cello, Textural, Ambiences, Dynamic Crossfade, Mixed Techniques, Mixed Techniques Motion, Motion Engine and X/Y Assignments. Articulations show up as a separate instrument and both instruments come with a generous selection of presets that are easy to edit.
The Poiesis Cello 2 instrument uses two layers and a mod wheel, or other MIDI CCs can be used to change the X/Y parameters of the control pad, which can be used to crossfade between the A/B layers during performance by dragging the puck in the horizontal axis. Effect and filter control can be linked to the vertical axis. If the Fade button associated with a layer is turned off, then that sound remains at a fixed level while the level of the other can still be varied. The X/Y puck movement can also be recorded so that it traces the same path whenever a new note is triggered.
Poiesis Cello 2 comes with a multitude of musically useful and wonderfully expressive cello sounds and I can see this instrument getting a lot of use both in music‑for‑picture and general music production.
While the original Poiesis Cello was impressive, Poiesis Cello 2 takes things further while retaining the ethos of the original and still remaining affordable. (The good news for existing owners is that the upgrade is free.) The presets show off the scope of the instrument, which can produce hauntingly beautiful tones at one extreme and disturbing horror‑movie effects at the other. It is easy to make changes simply by swapping out the samples in the layers — and after that there are the effects and filters to play with so there’s endless scope for making the sounds your own. Some sample‑based instruments can sound impressive without being particularly useful in a musical context but Sonora Cinematic have got it exactly right. Poiesis Cello 2 comes with a multitude of musically useful and wonderfully expressive cello sounds and I can see this instrument getting a lot of use both in music‑for‑picture and general music production.