Johann Pachelbel (1653 - 1706) was a German composer,
organist, and teacher who brought the south German
organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body
of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to
the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have
earned him a place among the most important composers
of the middle Baroque era. His music enjoyed enormous
popularity during his lifetime; he had many pupils and
his music became a model for the composers of south and
central German...(+)
Johann Pachelbel (1653 - 1706) was a German composer,
organist, and teacher who brought the south German
organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body
of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to
the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have
earned him a place among the most important composers
of the middle Baroque era. His music enjoyed enormous
popularity during his lifetime; he had many pupils and
his music became a model for the composers of south and
central Germany. Today, Pachelbel is best known for the
Canon in D; other well known works include the Chaconne
in F minor, the Toccata in E minor for organ, and the
Hexachordum Apollinis, a set of keyboard
variations.
He was influenced by southern German composers, such as
Johann Jakob Froberger and Johann Caspar Kerll,
Italians such as Girolamo Frescobaldi and Alessandro
Poglietti, French composers, and the composers of the
Nuremberg tradition. He preferred a lucid,
uncomplicated contrapuntal style that emphasized
melodic and harmonic clarity. His music is less
virtuosic and less adventurous harmonically than that
of Dieterich Buxtehude, although, like Buxtehude,
Pachelbel experimented with different ensembles and
instrumental combinations in his chamber music and,
most importantly, his vocal music, much of which
features exceptionally rich instrumentation. Pachelbel
explored many variation forms and associated
techniques, which manifest themselves in various
diverse pieces, from sacred concertos to harpsichord
suites.
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (originally written in
the German language with the title "Ein feste Burg ist
unser Gott") is one of the best known hymns by the
Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, a prolific
hymnwriter. Luther wrote the words and composed the
hymn tune between 1527 and 1529. It has been translated
into English at least seventy times and also into many
other languages. The words are mostly original,
although the first line paraphrases that of Psalm 46.
The hymn has been used by numerous composers, including
Johann Sebastian Bach. There is a version for organ,
BWV 720, written early in his career, possibly for the
organ at Divi Blasii, Mühlhausen. He used the hymn as
the basis of his chorale cantata Ein feste Burg ist
unser Gott, BWV 80 written for a celebration of
Reformation Day. Bach also set the tune twice in his
Choralgesänge (Choral Hymns), BWV 302 and BWV 303 (for
four voices). Two orchestrations of Bach's settings
were made by conductors Leopold Stokowski and Walter
Damrosch. Dieterich Buxtehude also wrote an organ
chorale setting (BuxWV 184), as did Johann Pachelbel.
George Frideric Handel used fragments of the melody in
his oratorio Solomon. Georg Philipp Telemann also made
a choral arrangement of this hymn and prominently used
an extract of the verses beginning Mit unsrer Macht ist
nichts getan in his famous Donnerode
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mighty_Fortress_Is_Our
_God).
Although originally composed for Organ, I created this
Interpretation of "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A
Mighty Fortress Is Our God" T. 31 P. 106) in D Major
for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC