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.

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

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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." 
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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

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