This is the emotional moment a The Piano contestant played a traditional song for her father with Alzheimer’s and remembered the lyrics.
The second episode of the Channel 4 show takes place at Cardiff Central Station, as brilliant pianists from across the country showcase their talents.
On Sunday’s episode, presenter Claudia Winkleman and judges Mika and Lang Lang witnessed an incredibly raw performance from Nerys from Caerphilly, who played a traditional Welsh song for her father.
Nerys emotionally sang ‘Anfoanf Angel’, meaning ‘I will send an angel’, which she used to sing with her father, who is now 90 years old and suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
As the sweet melody played, Nerys’s angelic voice joined the passersby at the station, who were actually a male choir, and began to sing in harmony with her.
On Sunday’s episode of The Piano, Nerys brought the judges to tears with her performance of ‘Anfoanf Angel’ which means ‘I will send an angel.’
She played the emotional melody for her 90-year-old father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, but he managed to remember the lyrics.
And Mika burst into tears when his father, who was watching at the station, could be seen mouthing the lyrics to the song.
Before starting to play, Nerys told Claudia: ”Maybe I can’t remember everything, but the music is always there.
‘Music is the connection, sometimes you can forget other things but you always have that connection with singing’
‘So dad and I used to sing this song together and it’s a special song and it makes him feel good. He will cry.’
As Nerys continued playing, Mika could be seen with tears in her eyes, as she exclaimed, “I’m getting goosebumps.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, he even rushed to give Nerys a hug at the end of the performance, calling her performance “absolute magic,” while Nerys said he was left “speechless” by singer Grace Kelly’s reaction.
Cardiff Central is the smallest station the group has been to so far in their search for the UK’s best amateur pianists, and gave a much more intimate feel to the performances.
Elsewhere in Sunday night’s episode, Claudia, Mika and Lang Lang were surprised by triplets and a man on a bicycle with a piano singing about chestnuts.
Nerys appears in the second episode of the series, which takes place at Cardiff Central Station.
Her angelic voice was soon joined by passersby at the station, who turned out to be a male choir.
Judges Mika and Lang Lang were moved to tears by the performance and said they had goosebumps.
Nerys said he had sung the song with his father when he was younger, and that it is a way to continue connecting in the midst of his Alzheimer’s.
heard of Gavin, 54, from Cardiff, owner of a snack bar in Caerphilly Mountain; Katie MacGregor, who played a Manic Street Preachers song; and Anton from Bristol, who is only 10 years old.
You can find out which pianist will make it to the final concert held at Manchester’s Aviva Studios in Sunday night’s episode.
Last week, viewers witnessed another emotional performance by a man with dementia at Manchester Piccadilly station.
Duncan, 80, was seen with his wife Fran, the couple have been married for 42 years.
He started playing the piano when he was just four years old, but six years ago he was diagnosed with dementia.
Contestant Duncan said he can still play, but the couple talked about how life has changed for both him and Fran since their diagnosis.
Fran said: “There is a vulnerability now that didn’t exist before and there is so much more I need to do… the future is unknown.”
“Duncan is everything to me, I would have him in any situation rather than not have him.”
Judges Mika and Lang Lang return with host Claudia Winkleman for a new episode Sunday night at 9 p.m.
In the series, talented pianists compete at train stations across the country for the chance to perform at Manchester’s Aviva Studios.
Duncan sat at the piano at the station to play a song dedicated to his wife, called Theme for Fran.
He said: “It gives me such a total feeling about the girl I found and the girl I married, the girl I love and will always love.”
After Duncan’s performance, host Claudia told Mika and Lang Lang: ‘He’s going to the concert, it’s not a debate.
“It’s important to have someone like that and who can talk through the piano.”
Last year, viewers of Channel 4’s The Piano were captivated by the victorious performance in the show’s debut by Lucy Illingworth, a then 13-year-old blind and autistic girl.
Claudia Winkleman listens to Welsh pianists for this episode, while Nerys performs a Welsh song.
The teenager from Halifax, West Yorkshire, reduced viewers to tears with a stunning recital of Debussy’s Arabesque, prompting judges Lang Land and Mika to call her a “genius”.
A year later, the moment was nominated for a BAFTA, in a category with scenes from Doctor Who, Succession and Happy Valley.
Plus, since her incredible performance on the Channel 4 talent show, Lucy performed to a packed Royal Albert Hall and left the King and Queen speechless at King Charles III’s coronation concert.
The Piano on Channel 4, stream or watch live on Sunday at 9pm Catch up here.
