The person remembered mom used to play cello for them in their childhood, and they were yearning to hear her play the instrument again.
Losing a loved one is devastating, but the pain cuts even deeper when you realize the moments with them are gone forever. A Redditor, known as OpenMindy (u/traditional-rock-921), recently unearthed a priceless time capsule from 1976: a short, silent film of their late mother playing the cello. Having grown up listening to their mom play before she passed away at a young age, the discovery was bittersweet—nostalgic but tinged with fresh grief. Without the ability to play the cello, the Redditor turned to the internet, seeking help to identify the piece their mom was performing. The response they received was overwhelmingly supportive.
On September 29, the Redditor posted this clip in the Reddit group r/classicalmusic with the caption, “I found a silent film of my mother, who died young, playing the cello. Can anyone help me identify what she is playing? I remember her playing for me as a small child and would love to hear what it sounded like again.” The film features a beautiful woman with dark hair, gracefully playing her cello in silence.
The Redditor desperately sought to decipher the audio behind the footage and re-sync it to the video to experience listening to their mom’s cello once again. In the comments section, people gathered together to share inspiring messages and guesses about the cello song in question. “What a beautiful mystery. I hope a cellist finds it and can resync the sound for you,” commented u/oncemorewithgusto.
Some Redditors analyzed the footage closely, offering their best guesses. u/mrfunkyland said, “Man, it’s hard to tell. The rhythm and the fingering make me think it could be from the introduction of the Elgar cello concerto.” u/james_dude suggested, “First 4 notes look like F# E D# A” A trained classical musician suggested that “I do believe she's playing something in C major here, which I've noted a couple of others across subs have guessed as well,” and also shared a set of music notes. u/jolasveinarnir chimed into this comment and wrote, “As a cellist, I agree with this transcription!” However, the mystery wasn’t solved quite yet.
Many suggested that the user post the clip in the Reddit group r/cello. So, they posted it in r/cello group where over 1,300 people upvoted his post. Here too, in the comments section, people tried their best to help but were confused by what the song could be. u/annathesia44 and u/thethunderXI thought that it was “Brahms cello sonata,” which is in E Minor. In a comment, the user revealed a hint that their mom usually played well-known classical pieces like Bach's Suites and Elgar.
After about three days, on October 3, the Redditor posted an update on r/classicalmusic. “Following some excellent suggestions in the comments to reach out to professional cellists who could reproduce the playing on the film, I got in touch with several and have some great results back,” they wrote in the caption. They added that a cellist named Joanna (@celloendpinfem) had worked hard to recreate the footage's audio and also wrote a beautiful accompaniment. Beneath the caption, the Redditor reposted the clip with Joanna’s improvised rendition added in the background audio.
UPDATE: I found a silent film of my mother, who died young, playing the cello. Please help me identify what she is playing... I have new audio!!
byu/Traditional-Rock-921 inclassicalmusic
The user appealed to people to keep showing their support and help them re-construct the song their beloved mom might have been playing while this footage was being recorded. In the comments, people showered praises for social media and the internet's power. “This is one of the best examples of the internet creating fellowship and collaboration,” commented u/780266.
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