Although the German composer Johann Pachelbel is best
known -- indeed, only known -- for his Canon in D
major, he was best known during his lifetime as an
organist and a composer of organ music. Many critics
still consider him to be the finest composer of German
organ music before Bach. Most of Pachelbel's organ
music was unpublished in his lifetime, but rather
circulated in handwritten copies. This makes dating his
works difficult and in some cases, impossible. The
Chaconne in F minor is one of...(+)
Although the German composer Johann Pachelbel is best
known -- indeed, only known -- for his Canon in D
major, he was best known during his lifetime as an
organist and a composer of organ music. Many critics
still consider him to be the finest composer of German
organ music before Bach. Most of Pachelbel's organ
music was unpublished in his lifetime, but rather
circulated in handwritten copies. This makes dating his
works difficult and in some cases, impossible. The
Chaconne in F minor is one of the longest and most
involved single-movement works. The chaconne theme is a
four-bar chromatically descending bass line, repeated
twice, and all succeeding iterations of the theme are
similarly paired. For the purposes of analysis, the 4/4
iterations of the chaconne theme may be considered as
paired units, thereby yielding 22 iterations. The mood
is different from that of the Canon; there were several
variation-like Baroque forms, based on repetitions of a
single theme or bass line, and each had its own flavor.
Yet the work should certainly be of interest to that
fraction of the millions of Canon listeners curious
about the rest of this composer's output.
SHEET MUSIC