Pachelbel Johann - Canon In D - Violin And Piano

D major - Partitur - = harpsichord - 3 violins and basso continuo or string orchestra editor: May, Helmut W. composer: Pachelbel, Johann Série: Concertino Difficulté: intermediate pages: 12 With this work, Pachelbel, who was born in Nuremberg, created one of the most popular orchestral pieces of the baroque period. In the canon two of the strictest contrapuntal forms are combined: The three violin parts form an extensive canon with entries of two bars distance. To this, a ground bass (basso ostinato) has been added repeating its two-bar tone formula 28 times. The technical mastery of the piece can be ad-mired just as much as its effect lies in the melodic and sensuous power of its string tones. The modest technical demands on the musicians are diametrically opposed to the compositional level: they do not go beyond the third position.

While Pachelbel has been most admired as a composer of organ works and Lutheran church music his Canon in D has long been one of his most celebrated compositions. It combines two time-honored compositional devices. The first of these is of course the canon a procedure whereby a melody in one part is strictly imitated by one or more other parts; a round (such as for example Frère Jacques) is a type of canon. The second device involves a short bass line (refeered to as a ground bass) that is repeated constandly over which the composer writes continuous variations. In its original form the work consists of an initial statement of an eight note ground bass followed by27 variations in strict canonic style for three violins above that bass. In addition to these four essential parts an appropriate harmonic background would have been improvised on harpsichord lute or organ. In the present arrangement Pachelbel's note values have been doubled for greater ease of reading and the work's canonic structure has been somewhat modified in order to make it more readily playable by violinists and pianists at an intermediate level. Since dynamics bowing indications articulations and slurs were not customarily provided by composer of the Baroque era the arranger and the editor have added them here as well as a metronome indication and a few cadential trills. Obviously these editorial additions should be regarded only as suggestions.

This is the Edition Peters Urtext edition of Pachelbel's Canon and Gigue for 3 Violins with Basso Continuo.

Canon in D is the most famous piece of music by Johann Pachelbel, written in or around 1680 as a piece of chamber music for three violins and basso continuo. Willard A. Palmer's simplified arrangement is for the intermediate pianist. / Piano

A new take on a well-known melody that charges into the traditional tune with a clever rhythmic transition, this captivating and creative arrangement will be fun to play. Includes 3 violin parts. (4:30) / Orchestre A Cordes