   #copyright

Johann Pachelbel

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Performers and composers

           Johann Pachelbel
   Born September 1, 1653 (Baptized)
        Nuremberg, Germany
   Died March 3, 1706
        Nuremberg, Germany (aged 52)

   Johann Pachelbel ( IPA: [paˈxɛlbəl]) ( baptized September 1, 1653 –
   March 3, 1706) was an acclaimed Baroque composer, organist and teacher
   who brought the south German organ tradition to its 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.

   Pachelbel's work enjoyed massive popularity during his lifetime; he had
   a large number of pupils and his music became a model for the composers
   of south and central Germany. However, he did not have much influence
   on the most important composers of the late Baroque such as Johann
   Sebastian Bach. Today Pachelbel is best known for his Canon in D; it is
   the only canon he wrote, and is somewhat unrepresentative of the rest
   of his oeuvre. In addition to the canon, his most well-known works
   include the Chaconne in F minor and the Toccata in C minor for organ,
   and a set of keyboard variations called Hexachordum Apollinis.

   Pachelbel's music was influenced by south German composers such as
   Johann Jakob Froberger and Johann Kaspar Kerll, Italians such as
   Girolamo Frescobaldi and Alessandro Poglietti, French composers and the
   composers of the Nuremberg tradition. Pachelbel preferred a lucid,
   uncomplicated contrapuntal style that emphasizes 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
   variation forms and associated techniques, which manifest themselves in
   many diverse pieces, from sacred concertos to harpsichord suites.

Life

1653–1673: Early youth and education (Nuremberg, Altdorf, Regensburg)

   The Church of Saint Sebald in Nuremberg, which played an important role
   in Pachelbel's life.
   Enlarge
   The Church of Saint Sebald in Nuremberg, which played an important role
   in Pachelbel's life.

   Johann Pachelbel was born in 1653 in Nuremberg into a family of a
   tinsmith. His exact date of birth is unknown, but since he was baptized
   on September 1 we can be almost certain that he was born in August.
   During his early youth, Pachelbel received musical training from Georg
   Caspar Wecker, organist of the Church of Saint Sebald (Sebalduskirche),
   and Heinrich Schwemmer, a musician and music teacher who later became
   the cantor of the same church. Both Wecker and Schwemmer were trained
   by Johann Erasmus Kindermann, one of the founders of the Nuremberg
   musical tradition, himself a pupil of Johann Staden.

   Johann Mattheson, whose Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte (Hamburg, 1740) is
   one of the most important sources of information about Pachelbel's
   life, mentions that the young Pachelbel demonstrated exceptional
   musical and academic abilities. He received his primary education in
   local Nuremberg schools and became a student at the University of
   Altdorf at the age of 15. During his stay in Altdorf, Pachelbel not
   only studied but also served as organist of one of the churches.
   Unfortunately, he was forced to leave the university after less than a
   year because of financial difficulties. In order to complete his
   studies, Pachelbel in 1670 became a scholarship student at the
   Gymnasium poeticum at Regensburg.

   The school authorities at Regensburg, impressed by Pachelbel's academic
   qualifications and his advanced standing in music, permitted him to
   study music outside the gymnasium. His teacher was Kaspar Prentz, a
   student of Johann Kaspar Kerll. The latter was greatly influenced by
   Italian composers such as Giacomo Carissimi, so it was probably through
   Prentz that Pachelbel started developing an interest in Italian music
   of the early and middle Baroque.

1673–1690: Career (Vienna, Eisenach, Erfurt)

   In 1673 Pachelbel moved to Vienna, where he became a deputy organist at
   the famous Saint Stephen Cathedral (Stephansdom). At the time, Vienna
   was the centre of the vast Habsburg empire and had much cultural
   importance, its tastes in music predominantly Italian. Several renowned
   cosmopolitan composers worked there, most of them contributing to the
   exchange of musical traditions in Europe. In particular, Johann Jakob
   Froberger served as court organist in Vienna until 1657 and was
   succeeded by Alessandro Poglietti; Georg Muffat lived in the city for
   some time, and most importantly, Johann Kaspar Kerll moved to Vienna in
   1673 - while there, he may have known or even taught Pachelbel, whose
   music shows traces of Kerll's style. Pachelbel spent five years in
   Vienna, absorbing the music of Catholic composers from southern Germany
   and Italy, whose styles contrasted with the more strict Lutheran
   tradition he was bred in. In some respects, Pachelbel is similar to
   Haydn, who too served as professional musician of the Stephansdom in
   his youth and as such was exposed to music of the leading composers of
   the time.

   In 1677 Pachelbel moved to Eisenach, where he found employment as court
   organist under Kapellmeister Daniel Eberlin (also a native of
   Nuremberg), in the employ of Johann Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach. He
   met the Bach family in Eisenach (which was the home city of JS Bach's
   father, Johann Ambrosius Bach), becoming a close friend of Johann
   Ambrosius and tutoring his children. Pachelbel only spent one year in
   Eisenach before his patron's brother died—during the period of mourning
   court musicians were greatly curtailed and Pachelbel was left without
   employment. He requested a testimonial from Eberlin, who wrote one for
   him (in the document, Eberlin described Pachelbel as a 'perfect and
   rare virtuoso'—einen perfecten und raren Virtuosen). With this
   document, Pachelbel left Eisenach on 18 May 1678.

   In June 1678, Pachelbel was employed as organist of the Lutheran
   Preacher's Church (Predigerkirche) in Erfurt, succeeding Johann Bach,
   the eldest son of Hans Bach. The Bach family was very well known in
   Erfurt (where virtually all organists would later be called "Bachs"),
   so Pachelbel's friendship with them continued here: Pachelbel became
   godfather to Johann Ambrosius' daughter, Johanna Juditha, and taught
   Johann Christoph Bach. Pachelbel remained in Erfurt for twelve years
   and established his reputation as one of the leading German organ
   composers of the time during his stay. Chorale preludes became the most
   characteristic products of the Erfurt period, since Pachelbel's
   contract specifically required him to compose the preludes for church
   services beforehand (as opposed to improvising during the service). His
   duties also included organ maintenance and, more importantly, composing
   a large-scale work every year to demonstrate his progress as composer
   and organist (as every work of that kind had to be better than the one
   composed the year before).

   Pachelbel married twice during his stay in Erfurt. Barbara Gabler
   became his wife on 25 October 1681, however, she and their only son
   died in September 1683 during a plague. Pachelbel's first published
   work, a set of chorale variations called Musicalische
   Sterbens-Gedancken ("Musical Thoughts on Death", Erfurt, 1683), was
   probably influenced by this event. Pachelbel married Judith Drommer
   (Trummert), daughter of a coppersmith, on 24 August 1684. They had five
   sons and two daughters; two of his sons, Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel
   and Charles Theodore Pachelbel, also became organ composers; another
   son, Johann Michael, became an instrument maker. One of his daughters,
   Amalia, achieved recognition as a painter and engraver.

1690–1706: Final years (Stuttgart, Gotha, Nuremberg)

   Pachelbel's autograph letter
   Enlarge
   Pachelbel's autograph letter

   Even though Pachelbel was outstandingly successful as organist,
   composer, and teacher at Erfurt, he asked for a permission to leave,
   apparently seeking a better appointment. He was formally released on 15
   August 1690, receiving a testimonial in which his "diligence and
   faithfulness" were praised. Pachelbel found new employment in less than
   two weeks: from September 1, 1690 he was musician and organist at the
   Württemberg court at Stuttgart under the patronage of Duchess Magdalena
   Sibylla. The position was an improvement, but unfortunately, he only
   spent two years in Stuttgart before he was forced to flee before a
   French invasion. His next post was that of town organist in Gotha,
   which he occupied for two years, starting on November 8, 1692. While in
   Gotha, Pachelbel published his first and only collection of liturgical
   music: Acht Chorale zum Praeambulieren (1693).

   During his three-year stay in Gotha, Pachelbel received at least two
   job invitations, one from Stuttgart and one from Oxford, England, but
   declined both. When Georg Caspar Wecker, Pachelbel's former teacher and
   organist of the Church of Saint Sebald in Nuremberg, died on April 20,
   1695, Nuremberg city authorities were so anxious to appoint
   Pachelbel—by then a celebrated native of the city—that they have sent
   Pachelbel an official invitation to take up the post at Saint Sebald
   (contrary to the usual practice of organizing an examination or
   inviting prominent organists of lesser churches to apply). Pachelbel
   accepted the invitation; Gotha authorities released him in 1695 and he
   arrived in Nuremberg sometime during summer, his road expenses paid by
   the Nuremberg city council.
   Pachelbel's tomb at the Rochus Cemetery (Rochuskirchhof) in Nuremberg.
   Enlarge
   Pachelbel's tomb at the Rochus Cemetery (Rochuskirchhof) in Nuremberg.

   Pachelbel remained in Nuremberg for the rest of his life. His late
   Nuremberg period saw the publication of Musikalische Ergötzung, a
   collection of chamber music, and, most importantly, Hexachordum
   Apollinis (Nuremberg, 1699), a set of six keyboard arias with
   variations. Although Pachelbel was mostly influenced by Italian and
   southern German composers, he apparently was acquainted with the
   northern German school, because Hexachordum Apollinis was dedicated to
   Dieterich Buxtehude. Also composed during these final years were
   numerous Italian-influenced concertato Vespers pieces and a set of more
   than ninety Magnificat fugues. Pachelbel died on March 3, 1706, aged
   fifty-two.

Posthumous influence and the rise of popularity of the Canon in D

   One of the last middle Baroque composers, Pachelbel did not have any
   considerable influence on most of the famous late Baroque composers
   such as George Frideric Handel, Domenico Scarlatti or Georg Philipp
   Telemann. He did influence Johann Sebastian Bach (indirectly: the young
   Johann Sebastian was tutored by Johann Christoph Bach, who studied with
   Pachelbel), but although JS Bach's early chorales and chorale
   variations borrow from Pachelbel's music, the style of northern German
   composers ( Georg Böhm, Dieterich Buxtehude, Johann Adam Reincken)
   played a more important role in the development of Bach's talent.

   Pachelbel was the last great composer of the Nuremberg tradition and
   the last important southern German composer. Pachelbel's influence was
   mostly limited to his pupils, most notably Johann Christoph Bach,
   Heinrich Buttstedt, Andreas Nicolaus Vetter, and two of Pachelbel's
   sons, Wilhelm Hieronymus and Charles Theodore. The latter became one of
   the first European composers to take up residence in the American
   colonies and so Pachelbel influenced, although indirectly and only to a
   certain degree, the American church music of the era. Composer,
   musicologist and writer Johann Gottfried Walther is probably the most
   famous of the composers influenced by Pachelbel - he is, in fact,
   referred to as the "second Pachelbel" in Mattheson's Grundlage einer
   Ehrenpforte, although this is somewhat misleading.

   As Baroque style went out of fashion during the 18th century, the
   majority of Baroque and pre-Baroque composers were virtually forgotten.
   Local organists in Nuremberg and Erfurt knew Pachelbel's music and
   occasionally performed it, but the public and the majority of composers
   and performers did not pay much attention to Pachelbel and his
   contemporaries. In the first half of the 19th century some organ works
   by Pachelbel were published and several musicologists started
   considering him an important composer (particularly Philipp Spitta, who
   was one of the first researchers to trace Pachelbel's role in the
   development of Baroque keyboard music). Much of his work was published
   in the early 20th century in the Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich
   series, but it was not until the rise of interest in early and Baroque
   music in the middle of the 20th century and the advent of
   historically-informed performance practice and associated research that
   Pachelbel's works began to be studied extensively and performed more
   frequently.

   Pachelbel's Canon in D major is the only exception. A piece of chamber
   music scored for three violins and basso continuo (and originally
   paired with a gigue in the same key), it experienced a tremendous surge
   in popularity during the 1970s, which made the Canon in D a universally
   recognized cultural item, one of the most famous classical compositions
   ever. Numerous musical adaptations and arrangements of the canon for
   diverse ensembles exist and the main theme (or the associated harmonic
   sequence) is frequently adapted by pop music artists, similarly to the
   opening of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. Interestingly,
   the gigue that originally accompanied the canon never received the same
   amount of popularity, even though it is a lively energetic dance.

Works

          Apart from harpsichord suites, this section concentrates only on
          the works whose ascription is not questioned. For a complete
          list of works which includes pieces with questionable authorship
          and lost compositions, see List of compositions by Johann
          Pachelbel.

General information

   During his lifetime, Pachelbel was best known as an organ composer. He
   wrote more than two hundred pieces for the instrument, both liturgical
   and secular, and explored most of the genres that existed at the time.
   Pachelbel was also a prolific vocal music composer: around a hundred
   works survive, including some 40 large-scale works. Only a few chamber
   music pieces by Pachelbel exist, although he might have composed many
   more, particularly while serving as court musician in Eisenach and
   Stuttgart.

   Several principal sources exist for Pachelbel's music, although none of
   them as important as, for example, the Oldham manuscript is for Louis
   Couperin. Among the more significant materials are several manuscripts
   that were lost before and during World War II but partially available
   as microfilms of the Winterthur collection, a two-volume manuscript
   currently in possession of the Oxford Bodleian library which is a major
   source for Pachelbel's late work, and the first part of the
   Tabulaturbuch (1692, currently at the Biblioteka Jagiello´nska in
   Kraków) compiled by Pachelbel's pupil Johann Valentin Eckelt, which
   includes the only known Pachelbel's autographs. The Neumeister
   manuscript and the so-called Weimar tablature of 1704 provide valuable
   information about Pachelbel's school, although they do not contain any
   pieces that can be confidently ascribed to him.

   Currently there is no standard numbering system for Pachelbel's works.
   Several catalogues are used, by Antoine Bouchard (POP numbers, organ
   works only), Jean M. Perreault (P numbers, currently the most complete
   catalogue; organized alphabetically), Hideo Tsukamoto (T numbers, L for
   lost works; organized thematically) and Kathryn Jane Welter (PC
   numbers).

Keyboard music

   Much of Pachelbel's liturgical organ music, particularly the chorale
   preludes, is relatively simple and written for manuals only, no pedal
   is required. This is partly due to Lutheran religious practice where
   congregants sang the chorales. Household instruments like virginals or
   clavichords accompanied the singing, so Pachelbel and many of his
   contemporaries made music playable using these instruments. The quality
   of the organs Pachelbel used also played a role: south German
   instruments were not, as a rule, as complex and as versatile as the
   north German ones, and Pachelbel's organs must have only had around
   15-25 stops on two manuals (compare to Buxtehude's Marienkirche
   instrument with 52 stops, 15 of them in the pedal). Finally, neither
   the Nuremberg nor the southern German organ tradition endorsed
   extensive use of pedals seen in the works by composers of the northern
   German school.

   Some pieces (several chorales, all ricercars, some fantasias) are
   written in white mensural notation. This notation system has hollow
   note heads and omits bar lines (measure delimiters). It was widely used
   since the 15th century but was being dropped in favour of modern
   notation (sometimes called black notation) during the 16th-17th
   centuries. In most cases Pachelbel used white notation for pieces
   composed in old-fashioned styles, to provide artistic integrity, as it
   were. In chorales, he may have used the notation to make the works more
   familiar to performers and musicians, most of whom were not used to the
   modern system.

Chorales

   Chorales and chorale preludes constitute almost half of Pachelbel's
   surviving organ output, in part because of his Erfurt job duties which
   required him to compose chorale preludes on a regular basis. The models
   Pachelbel used most frequently are the three-part cantus firmus
   setting, the chorale fugue and, most importantly, a model he invented
   which combined the two types. This latter type begins with a brief
   chorale fugue that is followed by a three- or four-part cantus firmus
   setting. Chorale phrases are treated one at a time, in the order in
   which they occur; frequently, the accompanying voices anticipate the
   next phrase by using bits of the melody in imitative counterpoint.
   Here's an example from Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist:
   Bars 35-54 of chorale Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist. The chorale in
   the soprano is highlighted.
   Enlarge
   Bars 35-54 of chorale Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist. The chorale in
   the soprano is highlighted.

   The piece begins with a chorale fugue (not shown here) that morphs into
   a four-part chorale setting which starts at bar 35. The slow-moving
   chorale (the cantus firmus, i.e., the original hymn tune) is in the
   soprano, and is highlighted in blue. The lower voices anticipate the
   shape of the second phrase of the chorale in an imitative fashion
   (notice the distinctive pattern of two repeated notes). Pachelbel wrote
   numerous chorales using this model (Auf meinen lieben Gott, Ach wie
   elend ist unsre Zeit, Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist, etc.), which
   soon became a standard form.

   A distinctive feature of almost all of Pachelbel's chorale preludes is
   his treatment of the melody: the cantus firmus features virtually no
   figuration or ornamentation of any kind, always presented in the
   plainest possible way in one of the outer voices. Pachelbel's knowledge
   of both ancient and contemporary chorale techniques is reflected in
   Acht Chorale zum Praeambulieren, a collection of eight chorales he
   published in 1693. It included, among other types, several chorales
   written using outdated models. Of these, Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren
   ( Psalm 103) is based on the German polyphonic song; it is one the very
   few Pachelbel chorales with cantus firmus in the tenor. Wir glauben
   all' an einen Gott is a three-part setting with melodic ornamentation
   of the chorale melody, which Pachelbel employed very rarely. Finally,
   Jesus Christus, unser Heiland der von uns is a typical bicinium chorale
   with one of the hands playing the unadorned chorale while the other
   provides constant fast-paced accompaniment written mostly in 16th
   notes. Pachelbel only used the bicinium form in two other pieces.

Fugues and ricercars

   Example 1: Fugue subjects from Magnificat fugues: secundi toni 7,
   octavi toni 10, primi toni 16, sexti toni 10, quarti toni 8 and octavi
   toni 13.
   Enlarge
   Example 1: Fugue subjects from Magnificat fugues: secundi toni 7,
   octavi toni 10, primi toni 16, sexti toni 10, quarti toni 8 and octavi
   toni 13.

   All fugues Pachelbel composed fall into two categories: there are some
   30 free fugues and around 90 so-called magnificat fugues. At the time,
   the fugue hadn't yet evolved into its mature form (as seen and heard in
   JS Bach's works, for instance); Pachelbel was one of the composers who
   helped to define it. Because of this, some of his fugues can be
   classified as imitative ricercars (only without sections) rather than
   strict fugues: the subject may change between the entries, the episodes
   may be quite long and thematic material not based on the subject may be
   introduced rather frequently. Nevertheless, Pachelbel's fugues display
   a tendency towards a more unified, subject-dependent structure which
   was to become the key element of late Baroque fugues. Furthermore,
   Pachelbel was the first major composer who started combining fugues
   with preludial, improvisatory movements (preludes, toccatas); this
   technique was adopted by later composers and was extensively used by JS
   Bach.

   The magnificat fugues were all composed during the Pachelbel's final
   years in Nuremberg. The singing of the Magnificat at Vespers was
   usually accompanied by the organist but could also be preceded by a
   short organ piece which would help establish pitch for the singers;
   Pachelbel's magnificat fugues are of this second type, short works
   based on original themes (rather than those from the chant). They are
   organized according to the eight Church Modes: 23 in primi toni, 10 in
   secundi toni, 11 in tertii toni, 8 in quarti toni, 12 in quinti toni,
   10 in sexti toni, 8 in septimi toni and 13 in octavi toni. Although a
   few two- and four-voice works are present, most employ three voices
   (sometimes expanding to four-voice polyphony for a bar or two). With
   the exception of the three double fugues (primi toni No. 12, sexti toni
   No. 1 and octavi toni No. 8), all are straightforward pieces,
   frequently in common time and all comparatively short - at an average
   tempo, most take around a minute and a half to play.

   The subjects of magnificat fugues are extremely varied (see Example 1),
   although most are quite brief (one or two bars); frequently some form
   of note repetition is used to emphasize a rhythmic (rather than
   melodic) contour. Another characteristic feature seen in many of these
   fugues is the presence of a single large (up to an octave) leap, which
   may occur in both slow (quarter and half notes) and fast (sixteenth and
   eighth notes) subjects. In some pieces the note values of the subject
   are varied between the entries, although this is rare. The double
   fugues exhibit a typical three-section structure: fugue on subject 1,
   fugue on subject 2, counterpoint with simultaneous use of both
   subjects. Countersubjects are only used in a few fugues.

   Pachelbel's free fugues are mostly in three or four voices and
   generally do not exhibit any significant differences from the
   magnificat pieces. Some of them, particularly the very few bicinia,
   were probably intended for teaching purposes. Two stylistic features
   borrowed from earlier composers were developed and used extensively by
   Pachelbel: a distinct way of handling short episodes during the
   exposition, with one of the voices doing a large leap, and the use of
   several repeating notes in fugue subjects. Although this technique was
   more or less common during the middle Baroque, Pachelbel often extended
   it to span a whole measure, like in the subject of a G minor fugue:
   Subject of a G minor fugue by Pachelbel.

   Pachelbel would also frequently compose fugues on subjects that relied
   on several strings of repeated notes or, like his predecessors, ones
   that started with a short three or four repeated notes motif. (the free
   fugues that employ the latter technique and broken chord figuration are
   perhaps better suited for the harpsichord). Extreme examples of note
   repetition in the subject are found in magnificat fugues: quarti toni
   No. 4 has eight repeated notes, octavi toni No. 6 has twelve. Also,
   even a fugue with an ordinary subject can rely on strings of repeated
   notes, as it happens, for example, in magnificat fugue octavi toni No.
   12:
   Excerpt from Magnificat Fugue octavi toni No. 12 (bars 15-18). Fugue
   subject that appears once in this excerpt is highlighted.
   Enlarge
   Excerpt from Magnificat Fugue octavi toni No. 12 (bars 15-18). Fugue
   subject that appears once in this excerpt is highlighted.

   The three ricercars Pachelbel composed are more akin to his fugues than
   to ricercars by Frescobaldi's or Froberger. All three use white
   notation and are marked alla breve. The polythematic C minor ricercar
   is the most popular and frequently performed and recorded. It is built
   on two contrasting themes (a slow chromatic pattern and a lively
   simplistic motif) which appear in their normal and inverted forms and
   concludes with both themes appearing simultaneously. The F-sharp minor
   ricercar uses the same concept and is slightly more interesting
   musically: the key of F-sharp minor requires a more flexible tuning
   than the standard meantone temperament of the Baroque era and was
   therefore rarely used by contemporary composers. This means that
   Pachelbel may have used his own tuning system, of which little is
   known. Ricercare in C major is probably an early work, mostly in three
   voices and employing the same kind of writing with consecutive thirds
   as seen in Pachelbel's toccatas (see below).

Chaconnes and variations

   Pachelbel's apparent affinity for variation form is evident from his
   organ works that explore the genre: chaconnes, chorale variations and
   several sets of arias with variations. The six chaconnes, together with
   Buxtehude's ostinato organ works, represent a shift from the older
   chaconne style: they completely abandon the dance idiom, introduce
   contrapuntal density, employ miscellaneous chorale improvisation
   techniques, and, most importantly, give the bass line much thematic
   significance for the development of the piece. Pachelbel's chaconnes
   are distinctly south German in style; the duple meter C major chaconne
   (possibly at early work) is reminiscent of Kerll's D minor passacaglia.
   The remaining five works are all in triple meter and display a wide
   variety of moods and techniques, concentrating on melodic content (as
   opposed to the emphasis on harmonic complexity and virtuosity in
   Buxtehude's chaconnes). The ostinato bass is not necessarily repeated
   unaltered throughout the piece and is sometimes subjected to minor
   alterations and ornamentation. The D major, D minor and F minor
   chaconnes are among Pachelbel's most well-known organ pieces, and the
   latter is often cited as his best organ work.
     * Chaconne in F minor for organ (excerpt, performed by Nigel Allcoat)
       —
          + The most famous of Pachelbel's organ chaconnes, played on a
            modern French instrument.
          +

   A page from the original printed edition of Hexachordum Apollinis,
   showing the fourth variation of the first aria.
   Enlarge
   A page from the original printed edition of Hexachordum Apollinis,
   showing the fourth variation of the first aria.

   In 1699 Pachelbel published Hexachordum Apollinis (the title is a
   reference to Apollo's lyre), a collection of six variations sets in
   different keys. It is dedicated to composers Ferdinand Tobias Richter
   (a friend from the Vienna years) and Dieterich Buxtehude. Each set
   follows the "aria and variations" model, arias numbered Aria prima
   through Aria sexta ("first" through "sixth"). The final piece, which is
   also the most known today, is subtitled Aria Sebaldina, a reference to
   the Church of Saint Sebald where Pachelbel worked at the time and where
   he received his first music lessons. Most of the variations are in
   common time, with Aria Sebaldina and its variations being the only
   notable exceptions–they are in 3/4 time. The pieces explore a wide
   range of variation techniques.

   Pachelbel's other variation sets include a few arias and an arietta (a
   short aria) with variations and a few pieces designated as chorale
   variations. Four works of the latter type were published in Erfurt in
   1683 under the title Musicalische Sterbens-Gedancken ("Musical Thoughts
   on Death"), which might refer to Pachelbel's first wife's death in the
   same year. This was Pachelbel's first published work and it is now
   partially lost. These pieces, along with Georg Böhm's works, may or may
   not have influenced Johann Sebastian Bach's early organ partitas.

Toccatas

   About 20 toccatas by Pachelbel survive, including several brief pieces
   referred to as toccatinas in the Perreault catalogue. They are
   characterized by consistent use of pedal point: for the most part,
   Pachelbel's toccatas consist of relatively fast passagework in both
   hands over sustained pedal notes. Although similar technique is
   employed in toccatas by Froberger and Frescobaldi's pedal toccatas,
   Pachelbel distinguishes himself from these composers by having no
   sections with imitative counterpoint–in fact, unlike most toccatas from
   the early and middle Baroque periods, Pachelbel's contributions to the
   genre are not sectional, unless rhapsodic introductory passages in a
   few pieces (most notably the E minor toccata) are counted as separate
   sections. Furthermore, no other Baroque composer used pedal point with
   such consistency in toccatas.

   Many of Pachelbel's toccatas explore a single melodic motif, and later
   works are written in a simple style in which two voices interact over
   sustained pedal notes, and said interaction—already much simpler than
   the virtuosic passages in earlier works—sometimes resorts to
   consecutive thirds, sixths or tenths. Compare the earlier D major
   toccata, with passages in the typical middle Baroque style, with one of
   the late C major toccatas:
   Excerpt from Toccata in D major (bars 10–14).
   Enlarge
   Excerpt from Toccata in D major (bars 10–14).
   Opening bars of Toccata in C major. Two-voice motivic interplay, based
   on the melody introduced in the first bar, is reduced to consecutive
   thirds in the last two bars. The piece continues in a similar manner,
   with basic motivic interaction in two voices and occasional consecutive
   thirds or fifths.
   Enlarge
   Opening bars of Toccata in C major. Two-voice motivic interplay, based
   on the melody introduced in the first bar, is reduced to consecutive
   thirds in the last two bars. The piece continues in a similar manner,
   with basic motivic interaction in two voices and occasional consecutive
   thirds or fifths.

   Sometimes a bar or two of consecutive thirds embellish the otherwise
   more complex toccata, occasionally there is a whole section written in
   that manner, and a few toccatas (particularly one of the D minor and
   one of the G minor pieces) are composed using only this technique, with
   almost no variation. Partly due to their simplicity, the toccatas are
   very accessible works; however, the E minor and C minor ones which
   receive more attention than the rest are in fact slightly more complex.

Fantasias

   Pachelbel composed six fantasias. Three of them (the A minor, C major
   and one of the two D Dorian pieces) are sectional compositions in 3/2
   time, the sections are never connected thematically; the other D Dorian
   piece's structure is reminiscent of Pachelbel's magnificat fugues, with
   the main theme accompanied by two simple countersubjects

   The E-flat major and G minor fantasias are variations on the Italian
   toccata di durezze e ligature genre. Both are gentle free-flowing
   pieces featuring intricate passages in both hands with many
   accidentals, close to similar pieces by Girolamo Frescobaldi or
   Giovanni de Macque.

Preludes

   Almost all pieces designated as preludes resemble Pachelbel's toccatas
   closely, since they too feature virtuosic passagework in one or both
   hands over sustained notes. However, most of the preludes are much
   shorter than the toccatas: the A minor prelude (pictured below) only
   has 9 bars, the G major piece has 10. The only exception is one of the
   two D minor pieces, which is very similar to Pachelbel's late
   simplistic toccatas, and considerably longer than any other prelude.
   The toccata idiom is completely absent, however, in the short Prelude
   in A minor:
   Prelude in A minor (full score).
   Enlarge
   Prelude in A minor (full score).

   A texture of similar density is also found in the ending of the shorter
   D minor piece, where three voices engage in imitative counterpoint. In
   pairs of preludes and fugues Pachelbel aimed to separate homophonic,
   improvisatory texture of the prelude from the strict counterpoint of
   the fugue.

Other keyboard music

   21 dance suites apparently composed around 1683 are usually attributed
   to Pachelbel, although this attribution is questionable for all but
   three suites. The pieces are French influenced and indicate Pachelbel
   may have studied Froberger's keyboard suites. Harmonically, the suites
   are quite varied: 17 keys are in these pieces, including F-sharp minor,
   which was seldom used in baroque music. (It was difficult to use
   because of meantone temperament. Pachelbel's other pieces in the same
   key include an organ ricercare and a chamber suite).

   All suites follow the classical model ( Allemande, Courante, Sarabande,
   Gigue), but are sometimes updated with an extra movement between the
   courante and the sarabande, usually a gavotte or a ballet. Generally,
   these additional movements are uncomplicated and less developed than
   main movements, but offer catchy and memorable melodies. All movements
   are in binary form, except for two arias.
     * Gavotte from Harpsichord Suite in E minor (No. 28) (excerpt,
       performed by Joseph Payne) —
          + A short and somewhat haunting dance that demonstrates the
            effectiveness of Pachelbel's simplistic pieces.
          +

Chamber music

   Pachelbel's chamber music is much less virtuosic than Biber's Mystery
   Sonatas or Buxtehude's Opus 1 and Opus 2 chamber sonatas. The famous
   Canon in D belongs to this genre, as it was originally scored for 3
   violins and a basso continuo, and paired with a gigue in the same key.
   The canon is actually more of a chaconne or a passacaglia: it consists
   of a ground bass over which the violins play a three-voice canon based
   on a simple theme, the violins' parts form 28 variations of the melody.
   The gigue which originally accompanied the canon is a simplistic piece
   that uses strict fugal writing.
     * Gigue from Canon and Gigue in D major (excerpt, performed by London
       Baroque) —
          + This simple, lighthearted gigue with catchy melodies
            originally accompanied Canon in D.
          +

   Musikalische Ergötzung ("Musical Delight") is a set of six chamber
   suites for two scordatura violins and basso continuo published sometime
   after 1695. At the time, scordatura tuning was used to produce special
   effects and execute tricky passages. However, Pachelbel's collection
   was intended for amateur violinists, and scordatura tuning is used here
   as basic introduction to the technique. Scrodatura only involves the
   tonic, dominant and sometimes the subdominant notes.

   Each suite of Musikalische Ergötzung begins with an introductory Sonata
   or Sonatina in one movement. In suites 1 and 3 these introductory
   movements are Allegro three-voice fughettas and stretti. The other four
   sonatas are reminiscent of French overtures. They have two Adagio
   sections which juxtapose slower and faster rhythms: the first section
   uses patterns of dotted quarter and eighth notes in a non- imitative
   manner. The second employs the violins in an imitative, sometimes
   homophonic structure, that uses shorter note values. The dance
   movements of the suites show traces of Italian (in the gigues of suites
   2 and 6) and German ( allemande appears in suites 1 and 2) influence,
   but the majority of the movements are clearly influenced by the French
   style. The suites do not adhere to a fixed structure: the allemande is
   only present in two suites, the gigues in four, two suites end with a
   chaconne, and the fourth suite contains two arias.

   Pachelbel's other chamber music includes an aria and variations (Aria
   con variazioni in A major) and four standalone suites scored for a
   string quartet or a typical French five-part string ensemble with 2
   violins, 2 violas and a violone (the latter reinforces the basso
   continuo). Of these, the five-part suite in G major (Partie a 5 in G
   major) is a variation suite, where each movement begins with a theme
   from the opening sonatina; like its four-part cousin (Partie a 4 in G
   major) and the third standalone suite (Partie a 4 in F-sharp minor) it
   updates the German suite model by using the latest French dances such
   as the gavotte or the ballet. The three pieces mentioned all end with a
   Finale movement. Interestingly, Partie a 4 in G major features no
   figuration for the lower part, which means that it wasn't a basso
   continuo and that, as Jean M. Perreault writes, "this work may well
   count as the first true string quartet, at least within the
   Germanophone domain."

Vocal music

   Johann Gottfried Walther famously described Pachelbel's vocal works as
   "more perfectly executed than anything before them". Already the
   earliest examples of Pachelbel's vocal writing, two arias So ist denn
   dies der Tag and So ist denn nur die Treu composed in Erfurt in 1679
   (which are also Pachelbel's earliest datable pieces), display
   impressive mastery of large-scale composition (So ist denn dies der Tag
   is scored for soprano, SATB choir, 2 violins, 3 violas, 4 trumpets,
   timpani and basso continuo) and exceptional knowledge of contemporary
   techniques.

   These latter features are also found in Pachelbel's Vespers pieces and
   sacred concertos, large-scale compositions which are probably his most
   important vocal works. Almost all of them adopt the modern concertato
   idiom and many are scored for unusually large groups of instruments
   (Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt (in C) uses four trumpets, timpani, 2
   violins, 3 violas, violone and basso continuo; Lobet den Herrn in
   seinem Heiligtum is scored for a five-part chorus, two flutes, bassoon,
   five trumpets, trombone, drums, cymbals, harp, two violins, basso
   continuo and organ). Pachelbel explores a very wide range of styles:
   psalm settings (Gott ist unser Zuversicht), chorale concertos (Christ
   lag in Todesbanden), sets of chorale variations (Was Gott tut, das ist
   wohlgetan), concerted motets, etc. The ensembles for which these works
   are scored are equally diverse: from the famous D major Magnificat
   setting written for a 4-part choir, 4 violas and basso continuo, to the
   Magnificat in C major scored for a five-part chorus, 4 trumpets,
   timpani, 2 violins, a single viola and two violas da gamba, bassoon,
   basso continuo and organ.

   Pachelbel's large-scale vocal works are mostly written in modern style
   influenced by Italian Catholic music, with only a few non-concerted
   pieces and old plainchant cantus firmus techniques employed very
   infrequently. The string ensemble is typical for the time, three viols
   and two violins. The former are either used to provide harmonic content
   in instrumental sections or to double the vocal lines in tutti
   sections; the violins either engage in contrapuntal textures of varying
   density or are employed for ornamentation. Distinct features of
   Pachelbel's vocal writing in these pieces, aside from the fact that it
   is almost always very strongly tonal, include frequent use of
   permutation fugues and writing for paired voices. The Magnificat
   settings, most composed during Pachelbel's late Nuremberg years, are
   influenced by the Italian-Viennese style and distinguish themselves
   from their antecedents by treating the canticle in a variety of ways
   and stepping away from text-dependent composition.

   Other vocal music includes motets, arias and two masses. Of the eleven
   extant motets, ten are scored for two four-part choruses. Most of this
   music is harmonically simple and make little use of complex polyphony
   (indeed, the polyphonic passages frequently feature reduction of
   parts). The texts are taken from the psalms, except in Nun danket alle
   Gott which uses a short passage from the Ecclesiastes. The motets are
   structured according to the text they use. One important feature found
   in Gott ist unser Zuversicht and Nun danket alle Gott is that their
   endings are four-part chorale settings reminiscent of Pachelbel's organ
   chorale model: the chorale, presented in long note values, is sung by
   the sopranos, while the six lower parts accompany with passages in
   shorter note values:
   An excerpt from the ending of motet Gott ist unser Zuversicht (bars
   92-95). These are the first choir's parts, the notes and lines for the
   second choir are the same.
   Enlarge
   An excerpt from the ending of motet Gott ist unser Zuversicht (bars
   92-95). These are the first choir's parts, the notes and lines for the
   second choir are the same.

   The arias, aside from the two 1679 works discussed above, are usually
   scored for solo voice accompanied by several instruments; most were
   written for occasions such as weddings, birthdays, funerals and
   baptisms. They include both simple strophic and complex sectional
   pieces of varying degrees of complexity, some include sections for
   chorus. The concerted Mass in C major is probably an early work; the D
   major Missa brevis is a small mass for a SATB choir in three movements
   (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo). It is simple, unadorned and somewhat
   reminiscent of his motets.
     * Motet Singet dem Herrn (Sing to the Lord, excerpt, performed by
       Cantus Cölln) —
          + A typical Pachelbel motet, joyous in mood and relatively
            simple musically.
          +

Recordings

     * Canon in D (Pachelbel's Canon) (arrangement for solo piano) —
          + Performed by Lee Galloway, www.leegalloway.com. Note that this
            arrangement is not exactly a canon like the original
            composition.
     * Fugue in C major for organ (MIDI) —
          + One of Pachelbel's many C major fugues on original themes,
            this short piece uses a subject with a pattern of repeated
            notes in a manner discussed above.
     * Problems playing the files? See media help.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Pachelbel"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
