Op. 6, 4 Classical Preludes for Piano. A beautiful set of preludes for piano.

Composed and Played by Dr Michael Spacie.

The 4 Preludes are Copyright ©

Op. 6, 4 Classical Preludes For Piano. Copyright © Composed And Played By Dr Michael Spacie.

Funeral March in D minor followed by modulatory Interlude: Composed and Played by Dr Michael Spacie. Copyright ©
Funeral March in C minor followed by concluding Interlude: Composed and Played by Dr Michael Spacie. Copyright ©

This music is dedicated in memory of the late Martyn Taylor (sometime Verger and Beadle of Rotherham Minster, UK) and the late Peter Crowther (sometime Organist of All Saints Parish Church Rotherham, UK, [Rotherham Minster], and sometime Master of the Choristers at Sheffield Cathedral, UK) in recognition of their appreciation, encouragement and kind words regarding my musical ability, musicianship and musical creativity.

The Funeral March in D minor makes use of a tolling bell musical motif, the music being infused with musical, emotional and spiritual aspects including parallel organum at the 5th; parallel modal triadicism; monophony at the unison octave; a simulation of possible early vocal melodic patterning circa 900-1200AD. Also, homophonic chordal in both the diatonic and modal orbit of D minor with encapsulation of modulatory episode to the subdominant relative major and its major subdominant.

The funeral march in C minor is written in ternary march form with contrasting protracted episode section in the relative major that offers some lighter moments of melodic and harmonic beauty that are essentially cantabile in feel and character. The delightful melodies of the episode weave themselves above relative major tonic secondary 7th with suspended 4th harmony. Along with the dominant 7th harmony containing the indigenous diminished 5th interval give rise to a yearning for resolution to tonic statements and are moments of wonderment when so realized in actuality. The episode itself is broadly in three sections, the outset of the first immediately announces an atmosphere of peace and calm with the beautifully crafted melody, the chromatic inflection at the beginning of the second gives out a feeling of tutti cantando and the opening of the third portrays a unison which bears accentuation and balance which is thus emphasized in the line and in turn gives rise to a brevity of joyous mood and of hope. The subtle march beat is maintained throughout the episode reminding in the background the funeral march feel is ever present.
The funeral march opens with an establishment of the C minor tonality along with diminished statements and interspersed with chordal statements of the subdominant with the dominant of the tonic having inclusion of the raised leading note major inflection never being far away and indeed being the last chord of the opening section transition to the episode forming the bridge and also forming the last chord of a cadential 6/4.
The transition between the episode and the final section makes use of a hightening tension of chord progression including diminished statements and a penultimate chord with a suspended 4th resolving on the dominant before eventually the music bursts out at the start of the final section in a full C minor tonic statement interacting this time with the chord of the dominant natural minor, the latter being the triadic figuration of the Aeolian mode on 'G' adding an infusion of modality blended with surrounding diatonicism. Full use is made of diminished 7th chords and pronounced dotted rhythms in the final section to add tension and enhance the feeling of strife, anguish, despair and grief. Following the climatic 6/4 cadential statement in the supertonic minor, a brief utterance of calm manifests itself in the guise of a subtle 4-chord statement in the dominant minor key before the music continues in grief with a poignant C minor tonic/submediant interaction followed by pre-cadential chords before a diminished chord is twice quietly resolved over a 'C' tonic pedal briefly to the parallel/tonic major before the final two 4-chord utterances in the dominant minor key with a tierce de picardie inflection on the very final chord bring the music to a restful conclusion.

Op. 8, Funeral Marches In D Minor And C Minor Copyright © Composed And Played By Dr Michael Spacie.

The 4 pieces for piano by John Ireland played by Dr Michael Spacie are as follows:
The Holy Boy
Country Dance 
Reapers' Dance
Gipsy Dance

John Ireland (1879 - 1962) was an English composer and pianist who was born in Cheshire and died in Sussex. He was professor of composition at the Royal College of Music from 1923-39. He was also an organist. His pieces for piano solo demonstrate a thorough understanding of the instrument; his skilful use of harmony and exquisite use and manipulation of dissonance and musical colour is worthy of note.

The Holy Boy is No. 3 from four preludes for piano composed 1913-1915. The Holy Boy original piano prelude (1913) has undergone an instrumental string arrangement (1941); an unaccompanied carol for voices (1941); an arrangement as a song to a poem by Herbert S. Brown (1938); an arrangement for organ (1919); an arrangement by Robert E. Stepp for brass band (1950).

The Holy Boy on this recording is played by Dr Michael Spacie from the original piano prelude by John Ireland composed in 1913.

The set of three dances played on this recording and listed above were composed in 1913 and published in the same year.

Copyright ©

4 Pieces For Piano By John Ireland. Played By Dr Michael Spacie. (Click For Details.)

Rachael Evans is a long-standing piano student of Dr Michael Spacie.

This recording is of Rachael playing Symphony No. 5, 2nd Movement, Andante Cantabile by Russian Composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. (Arranged for piano solo by Peter Gritton.)

Copyright ©

Piano Student Rachael Evans Plays Symphony No. 5, 2nd Movement, Andante Cantabile By P. Tchaikovsky.

This well-known Toccata by Charles-Marie Widor is the Toccata from the 5th Symphony (Opus 42). It is highly likely the Toccata was originally conceived for, or at, the piano with an organ pedal part added as a final stage of the composition, as the pedal not only provides something of a bass presence but save for a few 'horn calls', more importantly yet simplistically reinforces the transition of harmonic colour already provided by the manuals, not least the presence of △7 on first appearance of the pedal dotted rhythm.

Due to its incessant semi-quaver right-hand movement and rhythmic left-hand energy, familiarity for the performer with the performance acoustic is essential with a skill to 'listen to the room or building' in which it is performed.

Whilst the Toccata is played briskly (Allegro), a performance that is too fast will take away some detail, which incidentally, through dynamic shading can be brought out well on the piano. Widor never performed this piece too fast - a temptation for organists with the 'weightless' keys of the organ and modern pneumatic action of the coupling of manuals.

Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) was a French composer and amongst other works wrote 10 organ symphonies of which the Toccata from No. 5 is perhaps the best known, albeit hackneyed through over-use by, and in, the Church of England. From 1896 Widor was Professor of Composition at the Paris Conservatoire.

The contrapuntal and harmony elements in the Toccata are a manifestation of Widor's study of the keyboard works of J. S. Bach. Widor also harks back to J. S. Bach et al as Widor himself was a great improviser and it is easy to hear and see how the Toccata is improvisatory in nature and, for instance, in the time of J. S. Bach may well have been treated differently with each performance. Widor possibly wrote the music (i) as a tribute to, and in recognition of, J. S. Bach (ii) to consolidate improvisatory skills as presented here in a piece of structured music (iii) to use △7 and establish the feature as a functional device in the Toccata, hence its delightful colouring and, as an art of the usage of dissonance.

Another great improviser who wrote many of his works from improvisations played in the aristocratic salons of Paris was Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849). He wrote a set of 3 Mazurkas (Op. 63) composed in 1846 to which the F minor Mazurka Op. 63, No. 2 belongs. This piece is a Polish dance in triple time and marked 'Lento'. Like all Mazurkas, it has emphasis other than the first beat of the bar. The Mazurkas were a vehicle for Chopin's inner most thoughts and depth of feeling and no less given out here in this Mazurka performance.

The Widor Toccata is in F major and the Chopin Mazurka in the parallel/tonic minor which is F minor. Both the Toccata from the 5th Symphony by Charles-Marie Widor and the Mazurka in F minor Op. 63, No. 2 by Fryderyk Chopin are played by Dr Michael Spacie.

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Toccata From Symphony No. 5 By Widor And Mazurka Op. 63, No. 2 By Chopin. (Click For Details.)

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 is attributed to J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750). Originally written for organ, the Toccata would have had a specific purpose contemporary at the time and that was to test the function of a newly built organ as developments in the instrument were taking place in the time of J. S. Bach who himself designed and advised on organ building.

The Fugue that immediately follows the Toccata is a work of art and is the sum of its parts, artistically as well as mathematically. The Fugue is mostly for manuals save for an occasional Fugue subject entry and various short statements of counterpoint in the pedal part. The Fugue makes good sense both linear (contrapuntal) and vertical (harmony).

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor can convincingly be performed on the harpsichord or piano without significant loss and mostly with preservation of the 'basso continuo' concept: the nuance and inflection of the latter instrument enhance any performance, in contrast to organ swell pedal/s, the attack and release of the keys giving rise to limited expression, changes of manual and changes of registration, which in effect, in particular on large organs can lose some clarity and detail when this Toccata and Fugue is performed. Reverberation and acoustic can also be subtly dealt with and portrayed on the piano, as can harmonics and overtones and phrase shaping.

The wonderfully crafted Fugue has the leading note and dominant as pivotal points and interestingly does not begin with imitative writing somewhat customary at the time. Also, unlike fugues contemporary at the time, the 'answer' to the 'subject' is a 4th higher rather than the usual 5th giving a more poignant feel. In the Toccata, powerful statements of a diminished chord over a tonic pedal are dissonances that unlike the writing of the time, are unprepared; not to mention the 'off-beat' short statement reflecting Bach's thinking ahead of his time. Furthermore, there was little standardization of organ tuning across Europe at the time and hence, when this Toccata and Fugue is performed on a period instrument, it may sound somewhat 'out of tune' to modern listening, yet is consistent with baroque splendour.

Bach never left his home country, albeit he was influenced by what was happening musically in other European countries. The work was little known in his lifetime until Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847) was thought to have played it; thus the work was not generally known until the first half of the 19th-century when it was eventually published.

Interestingly, J. S. Bach applied for the Cantorship of St. Thomas's, Leipzig in December 1722, however, the church authorities did not select one of the greatest composers of all time, instead the little known chosen candidate, Graupner, was appointed but later withdrew and thus Bach was then accepted as the 'second-best' candidate in May 1723. Although, Bach remained in post at St Thomas's until his death, there were several disputes with the church authorities. Therefore, given the fact this Toccata and Fugue in D minor would be little known outside the local church and local area, it may well be a statement of defiance in breaking the accepted contemporary rules of composition regarding this piece and not least with no electricity, hand bellows to supply air to the instrument must have been hard work to sustain those large diminished chords over a tonic pedal, not to mention the shock of such a sound! Composers in the time of J. S. Bach generally relied on a living from the aristocracy, royal courts, or the church.

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor is played by Dr Michael Spacie.

Copyright ©

One of Dr Michael Spacie's SoundCloud followers wrote: "Your track stands out so much, I'm impressed with the detail, production quality, and passion you've poured into everything."

Toccata & Fugue In D Minor BWV 565 By J. S. Bach. Played By Dr Michael Spacie. (Click For Details.)

Op. 12, Novelette No. 4

A set of 4 Novelettes in various keys Composed and Played by Dr Michael Spacie.

The 4 Novelettes are Copyright ©

Op. 12, Novelette No. 4 Copyright © Composed And Played By Dr Michael Spacie.

Op. 12, Novelette No. 3

A set of 4 Novelettes in various keys Composed and Played by Dr Michael Spacie.

The 4 Novelettes are Copyright ©

Op. 12, Novelette No. 2

A set of 4 Novelettes in various keys Composed and Played by Dr Michael Spacie.

The 4 Novelettes are Copyright ©

Op. 12, Novelette No. 1

A set of 4 Novelettes in various keys Composed and Played by Dr Michael Spacie.

The 4 Novelettes are Copyright ©

Welcome to my SoundCloud page and a variety of audio recordings. Headphones or speakers are advantageous and recommended for listening. To continue reading, please click 'Show more' below:

Please note: click on any audio track for details about the music. 

A big thank you to all those listeners who have 'liked' tracks; most tracks have now been listened to many times. Statistics are not displayed publicly on this SoundCloud page as all tracks are then presented equally as pieces of music. My thanks to listeners who 'follow' me - thank you for enjoying my music performances and compositions. Thank you also for the messages/comments of appreciation. One such message read: "I recently came across your music and was really impressed - your delivery, writing, and overall sound truly stand out." 
I hope to share more music with you on my SoundCloud page in the future.

My first piano lesson was on my tenth birthday and ever since, the piano has been a life-long study with a pursuit of classical music. By 18 years of age I was able enough to achieve Grade 8 piano with distinction from The Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music as well as Grade 8 Theory of Music (Grade 8 being the final student Grade) and at the time, quite rapidly discovered that Grade 8 was not the end but just the beginning in terms of musical skill and musical development and knowledge.

Post Grade 8 and after further study I achieved two piano performance diplomas (ALCM) and (DipABRSM), I then went on to be successful with the highly demanding and prestigious Licentiate of The Royal Schools of Music Piano Performance Diploma Examination (LRSM) which is recognized the world over; the LRSM examination involved the performance of demanding repertoire, an extensive viva voce of verbal questioning and also, in my case for the 'Quick Study', a previously unseen baroque-style whole Gigue to prepare and perform with only 5 minutes preparation time; there are several examiners assessing live and the whole exam was audio recorded to ensure a rigour and standard appropriate to holding the LRSM. 

Also, I am twice piano performance Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) with different repertoire, and twice piano performance Licentiate of The London College of Music at The University of West London (LLCM) with different repertoire; this along with other music successes including an academic FLCM (Fellow of The London College of Music) - some of my academic study in music being with the London College of Music at the then Thames Valley University. 

My qualifications in music are as follows:
LRSM (Piano Performance), LTCL (Piano Recital), LTCL (Piano Recital), LLCM (Piano Recital), LLCM (Piano Performance), DipABRSM (Piano Performance), ALCM (Piano Performance), LVCM(Hons) (Piano Performance), FLCM (Diploma in Music Literacy – Research Thesis (Music)), FVCM(Hons) (Musicology (by Thesis)), FVCM(Hons) (Composition), BA(Music), MMus, PhD(Music).

I am an experienced music tutor with advanced piano tuition specialty at higher education level as well as experience in teaching all levels of piano from absolute beginner to performance diploma standard with excellent learner results. One of my students of piano wrote: "Michael is calm, professional, patient, and exceptionally talented."

I have also studied the organ and singing and I also enjoy conducting. In addition, I have composed many pieces of piano music. My own original piano compositions consist of the following which can all be heard on this SoundCloud page: 
- Opus 1, Reflections Series 13 piano pieces.
- Opus 2, 4 piano pieces dedicated to my wife, Mrs Sandra Spacie.
- Opus 3, 4 contemporary piano pieces.
- Opus 4, A set of 45 Mysteries which have something of an 'other-wordly' sound and ethereal feel. They can be used for general relaxed listening and enjoyment, meditation and spiritual life or to ponder the mysteries of the Universe.
- Opus 5, 4 piano pieces dedicated to my wife, Mrs Sandra Spacie.
- Opus 6, 4 Classical Preludes for Piano.
- Opus 7, O Tannenbaum [O Christmas Tree]: Variations and Faux Bourdon Composed by Dr Michael Spacie and Finlandia by Finnish Composer Jean Sibelius: Chorale Variations and Faux Bourdon Composed by Dr Michael Spacie.
- Piano Solo Arrangement: Cantique De Noël (O Holy Night) by French Composer Adolphe Adam.
- Opus 8, Funeral March in D minor followed by modulatory Interlude and Funeral March in C minor followed by concluding Interlude dedicated in memory of two musical associates.
- Opus 9, A set of 12 Rhapsodies for the piano.
- Opus 10, No. 1. Processional Wedding March in D major composed for friends.
- Opus 10, No. 2. Recessional Wedding March in E major composed for friends.
- Opus 11, A set of four pieces for piano 'Stillness in the Music'. A spiritual inspiration of the flowing energy in music. Composed for the piano with many subtle sounds, harmonics, overtones, and infused with delightful multiple colours and layers of musical sound with an ever present 'stillness'.
- Opus 12, A set of 4 Novelettes in various keys.

I was lucky enough to purchase a hand-crafted acoustic upright 'Welmar' piano manufactured by the piano factory Whelpdale, Maxwell and Codd, London. It has a delightful responsive touch and 'warm' sound and resides in my dedicated home music studio.

Each item digitally recorded by me was done without any technological tweaking per se.

COMPOSITION:-
I am an established composer of piano music having composed to date 98 original separate piano pieces - all of which are on this SoundCloud page. Essentially, composition is a lifetime's study and requires much practice to be musically satisfying. Imagination and creativity require quiet contemplation with experience and knowledge of technique in so much as how to play the notes composed in order to produce the best possible sound. My original compositions featured on this SoundCloud page portray self-expression and some insight into the world of harmony sometimes manifesting a musical colouration with mainly diatonicism peppered with some chromatic detail giving rise to various energy levels through dissonance and resolution: there are basic chord shapes which are altered; clusters giving beauty of sound; various tensions arising from chords and melody outside the key centre whether specific or vague and unusual combinations of chords and harmony with an effective intervallic structure. Some of the pieces are evocative and somewhat lyrical whilst others create a mood which is timeless and calming, yet other pieces are haunting, being restrained and subtle. The rhythm can vary from being completely free to measured with some 'rubato' flexibility. Any bar lines are not necessarily part of the mix with a natural accentuation in phrasing often indicating a surreptitious rise and fall of tone levels. The damper pedal gives at times an 'extra-wordly' feel and makes use of the harmonics and overtones which in some instances add atmosphere, mood and character, often giving rise to a combination of sophistication and simplicity of musical content with a feeling of an ebb and flow where nothing is static but an ever changing scene with space for individual freedom and emotion within a framework of appeal and accessibility for the listener.
 
PIANIST WITH ADVANCED PERFORMANCE SKILL:-
There is no sense of be-all and end-all of piano performance. Nowadays, the term ‘concert pianist’ is very much in vogue, has widespread usage, popular acceptance and is somewhat used mainly for elitist purposes, designation of level and has been since the mid to late 19th-century.
Although certainly not in every single case, the term ‘concert pianist’ somewhat generally carries something of the reality of egoism and showmanship and thus artificial performance which somewhat blights much of the modern-day field of piano-playing and has indeed done for a very long time since the mid to late 19th-century. For example: an unnecessary robust fortissimo followed by a dramatic pianissimo where a composer didn't require it and where it doesn't suit the music which causes a piece to sound rather brittle, artificial and false; for show, a much faster tempo than the composer intended; an engagement with physical complexity for the sake of complexity, a mechanical virtuosity, which is very often the direct antithesis of both emotional awareness and communication and spiritual awareness and communication in music and performance.
Whilst I hold the highly recognised LRSM qualification in piano performance, a qualification for whatever reason many concert pianists don’t hold, I nevertheless simply regard myself as a pianist, a servant of the composer and a servant of the music and it is always my wish that my performances speak to the listener in some profound way rather than simply to impress musically, and that they are primarily free from ‘egoism’, ‘showmanship’ and all things ‘artificial’, but instead to musically communicate and share is one’s desire rather than of show and promotion of the ego.
Prior to the mid to late 19th-century, even the greatest composers and performers performed keyboard works at concert-level by reading from the music and portraying the emotion and spirituality of that music with a very high degree of accuracy without many (if any) wrong notes as well as maturity of contemporary stylistic awareness. I have personally adopted this as my particular performance model (no matter which era of piano music I am performing). This I strive to do with utmost integrity of feeling, to immerse oneself in the wonderment of each subjective interpretation of feeling, of mood and character, atmosphere and new insight with a distinctive tone-quality somewhat unique to me and my playing. And, last but not least, how a subjective interpretation appears and disappears from the ether involving the player but without the player getting in the way!

I can be contacted by email using gmail.com preceded by pianistmusicianmikespacie@

Thank you for visiting my SoundCloud page.

Dr Mike Spacie

Toccata From Symphony No. 5 By Widor And Mazurka Op. 63, No. 2 By Chopin. (Click For Details.)

Dr Michael Spacie, LRSM LTCL LTCL LLCM LLCM, etc.