Cai Thomas sings Purcell’s Music for a while, first recorded performance as an emerging baritone. Recorded live in St Christopher’s Church, Haslemere. July 2022. Rob Lewis on piano Video - Tim Burton and Joe Blomfield
Cai! I think you were very worried. When you come to the path that must be taken no matter what, changing from a boy to a young man. But listening to your songs, I can see that your feelings about music haven't changed. Cai, music will always be with you. And I am rooting for you.
Dear Cai, you were gifted with an extraordinary voice, whether as a treble, or as a baritone…I *know* that is a big, intimidating shift. You have magnificent poise; breath control; and precision. Now let go of the fear of a breaking voice, and be as *EXPRESSIVE* as you want to be, soooooooo very obviously. Do that, and your career will be, well, STELLAR! We are ALL proud of, supporting, and rooting for your success. Thank you, btw, for sharing these transitional pieces with us!
Such a sublime and beautiful performance! Cai is a beautiful boy, with a beautiful voice! He is a sincere pleasure to listen to and watch with his dedication to the beauty of the voice.
Wow! I love listening to your singing. You sing one of my favourite song so beautiful. I also like your changed voice because you are a very great singer!
Wow Cai, your voice is so pure. I listened to your soprano performances as well, which was ... soul inspiring... and now this... Your voice takes me to places I can only dream of... Would love to hear what you would sound like as your voice reaches maturity. Keep on singing, take us on your journey... Keeping a lookout for big performances coming up.... ;)
Whilst it is a voice that will continue to develop over the next few years, this is an absolutely lovely performance of a splendid piece. (There's far too little Purcell performed and he is underated, but I'm digressing). I love the light, lyrical style which is so suited to this style of music, and whilst there is definitely a place for the rich, powerful bass/baritone voice, it is refreshing to hear such a sympathetic performance
I was and am a great admirer of Cai. His treble-period was great, no doubt. But almost all the comments here regarding the young bariton-voice are coloured by the treble-past ánd his good looks, but there is new horizon now. Please, be patient and give Cai the time. TIME, TIME and TIME again to grow into his "new" instrument. He needs to get accustomed to it. From the enormous hights (which he was used to and in full control), he is now (logically) by far not comfortable yet in this new field with enormous depths. Therefore, be reluctant with the overreacted comments, as it might only discomfort him. A comment like "you are on the right way" is enough. I know too many similar former trebles who you could not judge until they were 25-27. They must become confident and get to know what their voice can do. It takes time before you are in control and much more before you are in full control. He is a wonderful guy and the repertoire he chooses now is wise, but don't overwhelm him. Every voiceteacher would say the same. And many now professional singers agree. Simply excellent comments (often not real) don't help . Cai was too much of a pop-star like treble-idol, but now he must grow into a professional bariton. I wonder, by the way, if bariton is his end-station. Several parts are certainly too low, I would not be surprised if he is somewhere between tenor and bariton, but not bass/bariton. Cai, don't let the overdone reactions influence you, go your own way, assisted by those who have experience in voice-guiding. I hope you will feel more comfortable with your "new" instrument every year. You can manage, but take your time. Many singers study in silence , remember that! Best regards from the Netherlands.
Such warm, rich tones. Lovely, as always, young man. I remember your soprano performances and I enjoy these just as much. I appreciate the care you take with each note and phrase. You show great respect for the music. To your sound man and cameraman, please feature the soloist* more prominently, if possible. Thank you. *no disrespect to the pianist
Congratulations, Cai! After having enchanted us with your soprano voice, you now captivate us with a baritone voice that is all the more impressive since you are only 15 years old. At your age, I still had my soprano voice and I didn't become a tenor until I was 17. Keep working on your voice so that one day we can hear you on the stages of the greatest opera houses or in the greatest cathedrals. 👍👏👍👏👍👏👍
The warmness of Kai's voice is incredible. Agreed on comments about piano being too loud. I would like to have just the voice recording being released, if possible?
At first I looked at the title and the video length and thought "huh, less than 5 minutes, I wouldn't call that a while." It's the song name, I get it now.
Your warm baritone voice cheer me up. I can feel your sincerity about your music in your singing. Thank you,Cai. I will continue to support you from Japan.
Or, you can marvel at the millions of our ancestors, who sang by campfires, through the ages, and at weddings, and celebrations of all sorts, and generally found comfort in other human voices, and then lived long enough to reproduce. Thus the characteristics of having fine voices are concentrated and refined...that we can appreciate them today.
You are so right! This guy has a very beautiful voice and is very cultivated and beautiful! And as very often very well singing girls are praised for their beauty and then for their performance, it is totally ok. to commend the look of a male person, too. He just could wear an Angel costume and that would totally fit to the music and him. I guess the person below who criticised commending the look of the singer is a homophobic heteroman. Those heteromen themselves praise very often the beauty of girls or women but not their performance. But women want to get commended for their performance, too! But if a man commends the look of a boy or man, than those homophobic heteromen use the type of discrimination, that they connect this with child abuse directly or indirectly. But in reality the most child abuses happen in families by the (hetero)father. In those cases the child abuse functions as sexual arousal of power about someone or as substitute sex, if no decent sex is available enough. Anyways in Germany consentient love between 14 year olds and 14 + old individuals is legal and ok.
@@Patrick3183 You are not the person ordering others whom the commend for their beauty or capabilities. Concluding from your negative comment you are seemingly a homophobic hetero man. Here you can read, what is true: This is my comment to the person you criticised: “You are so right! This guy has a very beautiful voice and is very cultivated and beautiful! And as very often very well singing girls are praised for their beauty and then for their performance, it is totally ok. to commend the look of a male person, too. He just could wear an Angel costume and that would totally fit to the music and him. I guess the person below who criticised commending the look of the singer is a homophobic heteroman. Those heteromen themselves praise very often the beauty of girls or women but not their performance. But women want to get commended for their performance, too! But if a man commends the look of a boy or man, than those homophobic heteromen use the type of discrimination, that they connect this with child abuse directly or indirectly. But in reality the most child abuses happen in families by the (hetero)father. In those cases the child abuse functions as sexual arousal of power about someone or as substitute sex, if no decent sex is available enough. Anyways in Germany consentient love between 14 year olds and 14+ old individuals is legal and ok.”
A others have commented, the recording balance between singer and accompanist needs to be corrected. The young man's voice (as beautiful as his soprano a couple of years ago) is overwhelmed by the pianist.
Pure velvet. Congratulations for having such a talent and putting it to such good use! I hope your progress continues (If you wouldn't mind a technical suggestion regarding the audio, perhaps the next recording could be a bit better balanced ..the piano seemed to be a bit too loud at times, drowning out your great voice!)
When you sang treble, I was most charmed by the precision of your phrasing coming from such a young boy. Now that you are making the switch, I worried how you would handle your new range and tone, and if it would hurt your musicality. Well, your voice is coming right along; with every new video, there's a little more maturity. But the best part is that the technical accuracy is with you for the ride. You are miles ahead of the American men who often have no opportunity to begin studies until high school. You have a great set of tools, Cai. Enjoy working with them. We're all checking YT for your next performance. 😊 Cheers!
Well - WOW! I sang as a 10 year old in elementary school, then in high school, then in university. So yes, I have a little bit of memory about what this transformation is like. Your new voice is amazing! Not just in the new range, which is truly surprising. The bigger surprise is in your remarkable control, nothing breaks or is even strained either high or low. Please, continue to sing- I am your new fan. Sincerely, David Woodworth
Beautiful singing. I hope the next recordings are mic'ed and mixed for a better balance between Cai's voice and the accompaniment. The piano was far-too dominant in this one.
Cai, you're literally amazing, your intonation sounds natural, unforced and just perfect! You're not at all infected by this sickening fashion of overkilling vibrato present in modern-day academic vocal circles. However, if you're now going to focus on secular solo repertoire, it would be just amazing to readjust the projection a bit deeper, since this way of projecting is optimal only for a choir or a religious ensemble piece, where it is obligatory that no one stands out too much and the resulting wall of sound is almost angelic. All the best wishes!
I enjoy your singing so much, and your dedication to traditional music. Maybe turn the gain down on the piano, though. Your pianist is wonderful, too, but on some of the runs when he gets the piano ringing, it dominates over your voice.
BRAVO!! CAI THOMAS!!. Múy buen parformance, en tú voz. ¡Talento extraordinario!. ¡El mejór de los éxitos, Cai Thomas!..☆*👤👑👌👌👌 ☆*🌟👑🎤🎹🎶♥🔥👍👍👍 Fernando..👊👍 Desde Argentina..💙🌎
