Johann Pachelbel
Johann Pachelbel is unfairly viewed as a one-work composer, that work being the popular, Canon in D major, for three violins and continuo. He was an important figure from the Baroque period who is now seen as central in the development of both keyboard music and Protestant church music. Some have summarized his primary contribution as the uniting of Catholic Gregorian chant elements with the Northern German organ style, a style that reflected the influence of the Protestant chorale. A Lutheran, he spent several years in Vienna, where he was exposed to music by Froberger and Frescobaldi, which influenced his work with the chorale-prelude. His music in this genre would, in turn, influence the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, among others. It should be noted that many of Pachelbel's works are difficult to date, thus rendering judgments about his stylistic evolution questionable in many cases. Pachelbel was also a gifted organist and harpsichordist.
Pachelbel was born in August of 1653 and baptized on September 1. He showed musical talent early on and began studies first with Heinrich Schwemmer and later with George Kaspar Wecker, the latter instructing in composition and on the organ. Pachelbel received his general education at St. Lorenz high school, and in 1669, he enrolled at the university in Altdorf. Pachelbel did not come from a wealthy family and earned meager sums serving as organist at the Lorenzkirche. He thus could not garner enough money to keep up with the tuition costs at the university and had to leave after about a year.
After a brief period of private study following his departure, Pachelbel traveled to Vienna and obtained an assistant organist post at St. Stephen's Cathedral in 1673. Four years later, he took a position as court organist in Eisenach, where Bach would be born in 1685. He would become a close friend of the Bach family and teach both Johann Sebastian and Johann Christoph. Pachelbel left after a year at Eisenach, however, and became organist at the Predigerkirche in Erfurt, in 1678.
The composer married Barbara Gabler in 1681, and by 1683, he was a father. However, in September of that year, tragedy struck as a plague swept through Erfurt, taking his wife and infant son. Four sets of chorale variations appeared around this time under the title of Musicalische Sterbens-Gedancken (Musical Thoughts of Death). During this period, his organ chorales would become his most important works.
In August 1684, Pachelbel married Judith Drommer. One of their seven children would be the composer, organist, and harpsichordist Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelberg, born 1686. In 1690, Pachelbel took a post as Court organist at Stuttgart and appeared quite satisfied, but left after two years due to an impending invasion by French forces. He served next as municipal organist at Gotha, from the fall of 1692 until April 1695. He returned to Nuremberg around the latter time, eventually to become organist at St. Sebalduskirche (summer, 1695). He would serve for nearly 11 years in this post, producing his most famous vocal scores, as well as his great Magnificat fugues. In 1699, he produced his important collection of six arias, Hexachordum Apollinis, for organ or harpsichord. Pachelbel was buried in Nuremberg on March 9, 1706, and apparently had died on March 3.
© Robert Cummings /TiVo
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Pachelbel: Canon in D Major
Johann Pachelbel, Robert Haydon Clark, Consort of London
Klassiek - Released by PMI Collins Classics on 30 nov. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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99 Must-Have Chillout Classics, Vol. 2 (Various Artists)
Klassiek - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 21 jan. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
10 Ways of Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel
Klassiek - Released by Time Machine Classical on 1 jan. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pachelbel: Magnificat Fugues
Space Time Continuo, Amanda Keesmaat
Klassiek - Released by Les Productions Analekta Inc. on 4 nov. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Kanon in D
Johann Pachelbel, Canon in D Variations, Kanon in D Dur
Klassiek - Released by Classicato on 19 mrt. 2019
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Natural Classics: Music for Relaxation
Klassiek - Released by Solitudes on 1 jan. 2015
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Stay at Home with Pachelbel
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 21 jan. 2021
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Classical Hits: Pachelbel's Canon
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 6 jul. 2021
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Pachelbel: Canon and Gigue
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 11 jun. 2021
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99 Must-Have Smooth Classics
Klassiek - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 28 okt. 2016
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A Classical Dawn: Pachelbel
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 29 sep. 2022
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Canon in D Major (Piano Version)
Klassiek - Released by Franzo Lombardi on 18 apr. 2021
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Classical Bliss - The Best Classical Music Chillout Collection
Pop - Released by Amathus Music on 25 mei 2010
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The History of German Music (100 Famous Songs)
Klassiek - Released by Dream Collection on 3 jun. 2016
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Johann Pachelbel - Baroque Epoche
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 11 jun. 2021
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Christmas with Pachelbel
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 28 nov. 2020
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Canon in D
Klassiek - Released by Lark Recordings on 27 sep. 2015
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Pachelbel Canon
Klassiek - Released by S.A. Records c - o Tandem Music Group on 26 feb. 2013
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Greatest Hits Of The Classics Vol. 4
Klassiek - Released by JamadaDigital on 10 feb. 2015
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