Pachelbel's Canon (also known as Canon in D major, or, more formally, Canon and Gigue in D major for three Violins and Basso Continuo (Kanon und Gigue in D-Dur für drei Violinen und Basso Continuo)), is the most famous piece of music by Johann Pachelbel. It was written in or around 1680, during the Baroque period, as a piece of chamber music for three violins and basso continuo, but has since been arranged for a wide variety of ensembles. The Canon was originally paired with a gigue in the same key, although neither this composition nor the original version of the Canon as Pachelbel wrote it are regularly performed or recorded today. It is well known for its chord progression. The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance in a compound metre such as 3/8, 6/8, 6/4, 9/8 or 12/16. ... Johann Pachelbel (pronounced , German IPA: , , or [1]) (August 28, 1653 – March 6, 1706) was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. ... Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. ... For other uses, see Baroque (disambiguation). ... Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... For the Anne Rice novel, see Violin (novel). ... Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervallic content (the intervals which make up a sonority), later chords, in relation to a bass note. ... In music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. ... The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance in a compound metre such as 3/8, 6/8, 6/4, 9/8 or 12/16. ... For other uses, see key. ... A chord progression (also chord sequence and harmonic progression or sequence), as its name implies, is a series of chords played in order. ...

The piece is commonly played at weddings and is frequently present on miscellaneous classical music compilation CDs, along with other famous Baroque pieces such as Air on the G String by J. S. Bach (BWV 1068). It became very popular in the late 1970s through a famous recording by the Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra. A non-original viola pizzicato part is also commonly added (in a string orchestra or quartet setting) when a harpsichord or organ player is not used to improvise harmonies over the bass line. CD may stand for: Compact Disc Canadian Forces Decoration Cash Dispenser (at least used in Japan) CD LPMud Driver Centrum-Demokraterne (Centre Democrats of Denmark) Certificate of Deposit ÄŒeské Dráhy (Czech Railways) Chad (NATO country code) Chalmers Datorförening (computer club of the Chalmers University of Technology) a 1960s... The Air on the G String is an adaptation of Johann Sebastian Bachs famous Air. ... For other people named Bach and other meanings of the word, see Bach (disambiguation). ... Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) is the numbering system used to identify musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach. ... Jean-François Paillard (born April 12, 1928) is a French conductor. ... For other uses, see Viola (disambiguation). ... Jazz bass is played almost exclusively in pizzicato. ... A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely of stringed instruments. ... The Juilliard String Quartet performing in 1963. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. ...

Structure

The first 9 bars of the Canon in D: the violins play a three-voice canon over the ground bass which provides the harmonic structure. Colors are used above to differentiate and highlight the individual canonic entries.

The Canon in D is a strict three-part melodic canon based, both harmonically and structurally, on a two-measure (or -bar) ground bass: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1429x379, 24 KB) Summary Musical quotation from Canon and Gigue in D major by Johann Pachelbel. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1429x379, 24 KB) Summary Musical quotation from Canon and Gigue in D major by Johann Pachelbel. ... In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e. ... In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e. ... In musical notation, a bar or measure is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. ... In music, a ground bass is a bass part or bassline that repeats continually, as an ostinato, while the melody and possibly harmony over it change. ...

The same two-bar bass line and harmonic sequence is repeated over and over, 28 times in total. The chords of this sequence are: D major (tonic), A major (dominant), B minor (tonic relative or submediant—the relative minor tonic), F sharp minor (dominant parallel or mediant—the relative minor dominant), G major (subdominant), D major (tonic), G major (subdominant), and A major seventh (dominant seventh). This sequence, "I V vi iii IV I IV V7" (see scale degree), and similar sequences appear elsewhere in the classical body of work. Handel used it for the main theme and all variations thereof throughout the second movement of his Organ Concerto No. 11 in G minor, HWV 310. Mozart employed it for a passage in Die Zauberflöte (1791), at the moment where the three boys first appear. He may have learned the sequence from Haydn, who had used it in the minuet of his string quartet Opus 50 No. 2, composed in 1785. Neither Handel's, nor Haydn's, nor Mozart's passage is an exact harmonic match to Pachelbel's, the latter two both deviating in the last bar, and may in fact have arisen more prosaically from one of the more obvious harmonisations of a descending major scale. This sequence is known as a plagal sequence. Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ... The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ... In music, the dominant is the fifth degree of the scale. ... In music, the submediant is the sixth degree of the scale. ... In music theory, the dominant parallel is terminology used in German theory derived mainly from Hugo Riemann, Dp, in major, and dP, in minor, is the (US) relative to the dominant and is thus considered to have or fulfill the function of the dominant. ... For mediant in mathematics, see Mediant (mathematics) In music, the mediant is the third degree of the diatonic scale. ... In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. ... A seventh chord is a chord or triad which has a note the seventh above the tonic in it. ... Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ... “Handel” redirects here. ... “Mozart” redirects here. ... Die Zauberflöte (en: The Magic Flute) is an opera in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Haydn redirects here. ... A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two persons, usually in 3/4 time. ... The Juilliard String Quartet performing in 1963. ...

The actual canon is played over the ground bass by the violins. In the beginning, the first violin plays the first two bars of the canon's melody. At this point, the second violin enters with the beginning of the melody, whilst the first violin continues with the next two bars of the canon. Then the third violin commences the canon, whilst the second violin plays the third and fourth bars and the first violin continues with the fifth and sixth. The three violin parts then follow one another at two bars' distance until the end of the piece. The canon becomes increasingly dense towards the middle of the piece as the note values become shorter (first in the first violin, then in the second, and finally in the third violin). Afterwards, the piece gradually returns to a less complex structure as the note values lengthen once more. There are 28 repetitions of the ground bass in total. The canon is relatively simple and does not make use of any advanced counterpoint devices such as inversion, augmentation, diminution, etc. In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. ... In music and music theory augmentation is the lengthening or widening of rhythms, melodies, intervals, chords. ... Diminution, from Italian diminuimento, is a musical term used to mean different things in the context of melodies and intervals or chords. ...

It is often seen to be a set of variations over a ground bass or chord progression, like various composers' variations on La Folia (many of which also date from the Baroque period), whereas it is actually a true canon at the unison over a ground bass, as can be seen above. In this regard it is similar to the 13th century round Sumer Is Icumen In. A chord progression (also chord sequence and harmonic progression or sequence), as its name implies, is a series of chords played in order. ... -- is one of the oldest European musical themes. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Look up round in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cuckoo Song redirects here. ...

The piece is usually played at a very slow tempo (roughly 40 beats per minute), although faster renditions are occasionally heard.^{[citation needed]} For other uses, see Tempo (disambiguation). ...

Media

Pachelbels Canon. ... In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e. ... Image File history File links Pachelbels canon canonical. ...

External links

• Pachelbel's Canon: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Popular YouTube video of Jeong-Hyun Lim playing "Canon Rock" on guitar
• Video of Comedian Rob Paravonian demonstrating the widespread use of the Canon's chord progression in popular music
• Retunings of Pachelbel's Canon in a multitude of different tuning systems, including a number of xenharmonic tunings.