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.
The Magnificat Fugues probably represent the largest
body of keyboard music composed by one man for use in
conjunction with a single liturgical chant. A great
deal of effort was put forth by Sandberger to align
these Magnificat fugues with the tradition of the
alternation practice. However, when he proceeded to
superimpose the principles of alternation on the
liturgical situation as it prevailed at the St.
Sebalduskirche in Nurnberg during Pachelbel's time of
service as organist, Sandberger encountered
difficulties that prompt one to re-examine the problem.
Consequently, the question that arises when one
scrutinizes these 95 pieces is this: Are these fugues a
real contribution to the tradition of the alternation
practice; or do they represent the tradition of the
intonation? Attempts at a clarification of this problem
will be made through two avenues of approach: the one,
in terms of the internal evidences to be found in the
structural aspects of the music itself; and the other,
in terms of the local liturgical situation that
prevailed at the time they were composed.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Pachelbel).
Although originally composed for Organ, I created this
Interpretation of the Magnificat Fugue Tertii Toni No.
7 (P. 300) in G Mixolydian mode (G major) for String
Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC