Tom Kersey, cello - Bach cello suite no. 1 - Prelude

[koreanxforever123]

His bowing is different..

[RayBay516]

OMG he's better than me.... and I'm pretty good ;)

[Skelexy15]

it sounds pretty good fast, at least it was on the Lost & Found movie

(:

[MrBorsetti]

@ Lilujoy

Most people like this composition in no rush because it is so percect.. with this speed it is more like a train coming by:) I played cello for 10 years but my preference is just a little less speed

[Lili0joy]

This is one of my favorite videos.

.. shredding cello .. absolutely beautiful :D

[puppyspa]

played way too fast ..........results.....loss of feel , clarity and mood of the piece.

[raymondsymes212]

actually, ive been playing cello for 6 years and ha had speed consistancy wehere it was needed, clearly none of you have heard yo yo ma or any professional play this prelude before. Its a solo, you dont need perfect consistancy, especially when your trying to add expresion. he did a great job.Except his last chord, the bottom note was sharp!! :)

[raymondsymes212]

actually, ive been playing cello for 6 years and ha had speed consistancy wehere it was needed, clearly none of you have heard yo yo ma or any professional play this prelude before. Its a solo, you dont need perfect consistancy, especially when your trying to add expresion. he did a great job.

[elgatosucio]

Nice bow technique...but no tempo...

[CelloMusic4ever]

Wow! You're amazing! I love how you don't make your bowing wrist a stick like others do. This way, the bow slides across the strings perfectly. Well played =)

[phi223]

This is baroque music. It can be played however the individual wants. If you look at an urtext (the most original copy of the manuscript) of the music you will notice NO dynamics or tempo indications. Baroque composers very rarely added anything of the like and left it up to the performer to do their thing. So good job to him for not doing it like everybody else would have.

[left4dead001]

im amazed at the perpendicular consistency of his veragular temppnanom of the purple dwarve on level 8. WOOT WOOT WATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THEY COME FOR U BAD BOY BAD BOY . BEEP BEPP BEP BEEP VBEPBEPBEPB PBPEBP BP PEP PBPEB WHAT THE FU- BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM­MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[MusicPassion45678]

I don't think it matters what the speed is, I believe it should fit the persons taste and how they want their message to be heard. I think people need to stop complaining that it's too fast, cause you can't say that something is wrong when that's how the message is suppost to be, there's not only one type of right to music.

[josh684231597]

Don't take peoples comments on youtube too seriously, most of them have no idea what they are talking about. I loved the tempo, and thought the tempo was perfect. Except for that one spot, I enjoyed your performance thoroughly .

[Skyelar46]

your speeding... :(

[BenandNicmakemusic]

its in g major retard ive played this peice

[MegaFather123]

uhhh.....pretty sure this is in D major

[the1real1emo]

@MegaFather123 ya i think it is in d major

[left4dead001]

@the1real1emo I KNOW PEOPLE THESE DAYS.....

[left4dead001]

@MegaFather123 nope its in z minor

[Piccobow]

I think he plays just fine-stop the insessant criticism.

[budahed54]

When you play a piece like this at a faster tempo, there is a point that the liveliness of the piece is lost and you begin simply to rush. You played the piece faster than you could handle, and you lost control, as is made apparent by the many mistakes which you yourself admit making. From 1:14 to 1:34, you played more wrong notes than right, and you were not helping yourself by playing at that tempo.

There is no shame in slowing down to allow the true richness of this piece to shine through.

[unusualmusician]

@budahed54

Often (and in this case!), I would have to agree with you. This musician is earnest, but needs to work on being more musical. The speedy pace definitely wasn't helping.

But Bach's melodies really do have a lot of potential. Fast or slow, what is really important is how "musical" it is.

I play the violin unusually well, and I posted a rendition of this famous piece of ear (mind and soul) candy on my channel. It's a little jazzy, but it's all there ;-)

Viva Bach!

[rosie2897]

Ooh... he's a rusher. No speed consistency!

[lemmingguy1]

it's this weird thing called rubato...

[lemmingguy1]

actually I'm surprised no one has mentioned the actual mistakes in this performance

[rosie2897]

Yeah, he made several really surprising technical errors

[IamCaboose]

Who's he racing against?

[lemmingguy1]

I'm racing against Rostropovich! ...and I think he won! :)

When I saw him perform a few years ago I was amazed at how incredibly slow he played the D minor sarabande, especially considering his tempo on the G major prelude. I guess he was just into extreme tempi.

[xlovexyouxtoxdeathx]

that was so beautiful!a wonderful take on my favorite classical piece!

[FourtyTwoLetters]

Jealously ensues. x)

I have the greatest longing to play the cello!

Just to feel the smooth and laquered wood and long strings and bow and, to just create beautiful music I have heard so much of from many cellists on youtube! But, my parents will not let me play. Nor will they let me rent one so I can at least try it out.

I guess I need to wait untill I'm out of the house by 20 in order to buy one myself and pay for lessons.

I applaud you on your performance though! It inspires me.

[SeattleHereICome]

Why don't you try to find work and pay for the lessons and rentals yourself? I seriously doubt anyone's parents are truly anti-cello; they probably just oppose expensive extracurriculars--and even though I play the cello and I don't know what your financial situation is, I can't really blame them for maybe not wanting to loosen the purse-strings a little. It's tough times out there.

[FourtyTwoLetters]

@Seattle

I'll be working in the summer, saving money to rent long-term. But, money isn't the issue - they happily pay for extra-curricular things - they "feel it is what they should do", as they say (although I understand that it is expensive). The reason is that they want me to only focus on my piano and studies. I've been saving up from allowance and birthdays, but what good will it do if I rent and pay for my own cello lessons, no permission, the outcome them yelling at me for doing so?

[SeattleHereICome]

I'll just send you a private message since my original response was over the comment limit.

[sirRuss3ll]

I enjoyed this performance greatly. Even at such a lively tempo, your sound is beautiful.

I play upright bass and hope to be able to play this movement one day. And speaking of bass, that would be the instrument to break your back, not a cello. ^^

[unusualmusician]

Good job. Yes, why not play this famous melody with a lively, flowing tempo? Slow can be nice, too. It just depends on one's mood.

As to what might be the "best" way to play it...there are many determining factors besides merely speed. The most interesting questions usually have more than one answer.

Viva Bach!

[fahrenholzab]

Well done; lively tempo. Thanks for posting an admirable performance.

[Jordan23GOAT]

good stufff man .. very nice

[WZW1982]

lol @ paolocarress, yeah, everyone should just play the violin, so that we can all be the same and have no diversity in sound, hell lets just make the entire string section violins so it can sound cold and hissy and just be really loud... and we can all be like you, spoiled and stupid.

[lemmingguy1]

Now now, let's not dis the violin and all violinists in retaliation!

Of course everyone knows the cello is by far the best stringed instrument, but the violin is beautiful as well, if you consider the screams of a mentally challenged mutant cat being torn limb form limb in a bizarre and extreme s&m ritual.

I kid, the violin is amazing in the right hands. I think my favorite violin concerto is Bartok's second.

Check out Ornette Coleman's violin work. Crazy!!

[ArabQuinn]

i played it for 4 years, i was okay at it, learned very fast. but... it's not my style, of coarse and they are a big need in a orchestra. so i started playing the viola, nice too. but not what i was looking for. so i bought a cello.

the color is beautiful mohagany color, and the sound was full of flavor.

i cll my cello old man, because it sounds like an old brilliant man talking about something he has a passion for.

it was music(literally ) to my ears

[paolocarress]

stupid instrument...you could have just played the violin like me...its a more beautiful instrument and you dont need to break your back in carrying it ...

[lemmingguy1]

You're funny!

Any other insightful comments?

What is your position regarding the integration of improvisatory elements into Baroque performance practice?

Personally, I like it and try to utilize it, though usually into dance movements and not so much in preludes. I should post some examples of this I think.

Check out cellist Frederick Zlotkin, just one string player using improv in Baroque music.

[atran407]

Oh my, you played it beautifully. i'm definitely impressed. wow. :)

[lemmingguy1]

Thanks! I'm glad you like it in even though there are some mistakes.

Oh well, I guess it's the spirit of the performance that's more important than playing every note perfectly.

Although I would like to get both down!

[LynsieMusic]

Awesome version!! Sounds just like The Soloist movie trailer! Gives me chills!

[beremended]

Good ;)

[DuskNote26]

Awesome job! And yes, you are cute lol, but that's beside the point.

[Devienn]

Song... :)

[Elvira4242]

Dude rocks the casbah!

[ginnabinna]

What version is that? The bowings are different from what I'm playing although my teacher wrote in different bowings than the book, most of them are still different...

[AtTwelve34]

Lol, Bach is always up to interpretation.

[kazukokisanuki]

as a celloist my self i think u did a very good job even with the swiftness u hit the notes rather precisely, great intination and ability to even play this particular song at that tempo

:) keep it up

[lemmingguy1]

actually, it does seem a bit swift

[lemmingguy1]

Hello. To all of you complaining about me playing the piece too fast... bite me.

Or from another angle... piss off.

But really, to each his own. Or her own, whatever the case may be.

My tempo is based on harmonic rhythm, or should I say, the rate at which the harmonic progressions, er... progress. yeah?

I love you all. Thank you for all comments positive or negative. I am just a humble cellist.

More comments about me being hot are encouraged. I am trying to be humorous...

[fashionfreakomg247]

whoa doggie hes hot!!!!!! and hes a really good cello thats a plus!!

[AmbularNYC]

Cute guy playing the cello: Always a good thing (and you're good too)

[sumaya43]

its wonderfull only he could play it a little slower

=]

[imareject13]

woah woah woah slow it down a little ppl cant hear the music play it like yo yo ma he plays it so beutifully

[AznxSoul]

its too fast :S

[whammeke]

interesting tempo - very modern

[tonymcg4]

i think it's a nice tempo, much better than some other interpretations i've heard on youtube - very good, much better than me :P

[Brigasimon]

Too fast. 4 stars (:

[Gamble211]

Perfectly executed, Fife stars!

[cellochikashak]

Good!

[lemmingguy1]

I'm no virtuoso, just a humble cellist with a love of music, be it Bach, Bartok, Sun Ra, Bad Religion, and so much more............

[07843827259]

i disagree. the cello suites are supposed to accompany dance and yet at te same time, create character. see the masterclass on here by casals. one of his pupils taught me not so long ago and he agrees. if they are not accompanying dance then they should be played just as any other piece. create your own performance i say. if you don't, the suites can get a little boring.

[mariflak]

that's how a red-neck sounds like.

[07843827259]

i'm sorry - what???

[mariflak]

I said that's how red-necks sound like

[rayhavon]

bit of off tune notes towards the end but bravo!

[fran92fm]

Grandioso!

[Bopayne]

Very touching...

[gators05]

germanmastermind,

Agreed that this sound quality is not good, and that the piece is meant to be played at a quicker tempo, but Kersey plays it very smooth. I like Kersey's version because it just sounds different then when I play it by 'the book' and it sounds good.

[germanmastermind]

gators05 i dont agree with you about Rostrapovich playing to fast, it is meant to be played fast, and if you play it to slow you dont get that certain beat. although this is good playing the sound qaulity is not that great.

[gators05]

I have listened to many recordings of this piece, and I think that this is the prettiest one i have heard yet. I prefer it way more than Rostrapovich, who plays it way too fast and I can't get much feel out of it. Also better than Yo-Yo Ma's recording because, well, it just sounds annoying.

I specially like the ending. Very powerful.

I am in Maryland, but I wish I was closer to his area in Florida, so I could see him live.

[Beuska7]

This is very beautiful, you deserve a better cello with that technique and intonation of yours! =)

[unpleasant]

fabulous!