Paul Spaeth
Los Angeles, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE
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Paul Spaeth is a pianist and composer that has reached a wide range of fans. He has been on the top of the charts for Amazon downloads and has worked in cinema, stage and concert halls with success. In 2003 he won the Recording Academy’s Grammy Scholarship Award. Listening to Redemption, it was easy to see why.
“Lullaby for a Mending Heart” is a beautiful piece filled with tender piano movements and strains of cello with a sense of peace, this poignant composition is filled with subtle emotions that go straight to the heart of the human condition. Which one of us has not had our heart broken at one time or another? The bitter sweetness of love lost and found; betrayal and grace, or perhaps just holding a tiny puppy in your arms, knowing you are the world to the life in your hands. The heart can mend, even from the deepest wounds.
“This Is Our Faith” is a step onto a mountainside to await the coming of the dawn. Piano movements and deeply eloquent string sequences delve deep into what makes us bear up in the toughest of times. Just like “Lullaby for a Mending Heart,” this song looks at love and loss and takes you across the abyss to the other side. Faith that you will see a lost loved one again or a belief that cancer will go into remission. Knowing that there is a force beyond our frail human selves watching over us every moment of the day, even when it feels like we are walking alone. There are two footprints in the sand, if you only believe. Paul Spaeth takes all of these things and weaves them into a tapestry of love, longing and triumph over darkness. This is a song for healing hearts if ever there was one.
“Redemption” is the title track of the album. The piece leads in tentatively as a penitent opening the door to the confessional. The boom of strong piano movements jar the listener and the softness of contrition takes hold as we pray for the flaws in our humanity to be forgiven. Deliberate harmonies roll over the listener, leading us into the mortal climes of hope and reassurance. The piano elements in this piece are particularly tender and severe in turns, giving love and discipline as it is needed.
Paul Spaeth looks for music to connect with the listener in a very personal way. His use of sound and substance craft a subtle, yet deeply intense auditory experience. This album is rich in melodic sensitivity and lush with harmonies that connect on every level. This artist is one to watch and I am certain his work will be featured in films and more television productions in the immediate future. It is the quality you would find in such great films as The Gladiator. I highly recommend this album.
5 Stars.
Key Tracks- Redemption, Lullaby for a Mending Heart, This is Our Faith
Dana Wright-Muzikreviews.com Sr. Staff
November 12, 2013
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Discography
2013: Redemption
2001, re-released 2013: Cobalt Blue
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Bio
Paul Spaeth began writing music on his grandparent's upright piano in rural Wisconsin. That same beguiling simplicity is found in every piece of music he writes today.
Growing up with a connection to nature, the sublime became infused into his musical style. Paul developed a philosophy of the "numinous experience" in music, which can transcend the daily human experience and raise our consciousness. As one listener said, The subtleties strike us honestly, driving to the core of who and what we are.
Pauls story began when he was three years old. His father took Paul to a Toys R Us and told him to choose any toy in the store. He instinctively chose a yellow dinosaur-shaped toy piano, which planted the seed for his parents to place him in piano lessons. Paul was so eager to get started after the first lesson that he listened to the lesson tapes repeatedly, late into the night. The next morning, his father woke up to the sound of music playing in the other room and found Paul sitting down, already playing the music he had listened to the night before.
As he continued lessons, his improvisational instincts grew. When he was nine, his grandfather discovered him improvising new compositions on the piano and decided to record them, musing hed probably hear Paul on the radio someday. That experience single-handedly sparked Pauls desire to become a recording artist.
As a teenager, he recorded a piano and orchestral CD entitled Cobalt Blue and posted it on MP3.com, before iPods were invented and the music revolution made downloading music commonplace. Simply through word of mouth, it garnered over one million downloads and accolades such as the Top Artist in Los Angeles.
After premiering his first orchestral piece at the age of 17, he entered the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music for composition and film scoring. Mentors such as Morten Lauridsen (composer-in-residence, LA Master Chorale) and film composer Christopher Young (The Shipping News, Spiderman 3) praised his "innate talent" and rare melodic sensibilities.
He has since written music for film, TV and video games, and had premieres at such prestigious film festivals as Toronto, Boston, Monaco, Naples and Montreal.
Today, Paul is working on the cutting edge of new media distribution to promote his latest album, Redemption. The journey to complete these songs spanned nearly a decade and is steeped in personal experiences of life and love, coming of age, and finding ones truth. It is truly Paul baring his soul. Fittingly, he returned to his childhood Wisconsin roots to complete both the album and his personal journey of Redemption.
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