The Classical Music Minute

Pachelbel’s Canon in D & Its Iconic Bass Line

February 06, 2023 Steven Hobé, Composer & Host Season 1 Episode 101
The Classical Music Minute
Pachelbel’s Canon in D & Its Iconic Bass Line
Show Notes Transcript

Description
It may not be to everyone’s taste, yet Pachelbel’s Canon in D is one of the most famous pieces of classical music of all time. Take a minute to get the scoop!

Take a listen to: Canon and Gigue for Three Violins and Continuo in D Major: Canon · Jean-François Paillard c/o YouTube

Fun Fact
Pachelbel wrote more than 500 pieces over his lifetime. He was a prolific organist in his hometown of Nuremberg, and even taught the man who became Bach’s teacher. Despite the sheer volume of his output, there’s still no system to number all of his works.

About Steven, Host
Steven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.
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It may not be to everyone’s taste, yet Pachelbel’s Canon in D is one of the most famous pieces of classical music of all time. It’s as simple as three violins, one cello, and eight bars of music repeated 28 times. Voila!

The canon was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue. Pachelbel’s approach to writing the music was almost mathematical. Both movements are in the key of D major. 

We don’t actually know when it was composed, although it’s thought to be around 1680. Rumours have it that it was written for the wedding of Bach’s brother, Johann Christoph, but then again, maybe not.

The likes of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart all used the iconic bass line in some of their compositions in the following years.

But its popularity actually snowballed in the 1970s, after French conductor Jean-François Paillard made a recording. Since then, the music has been used hundreds of times making its way into pop songs, films, and commercials.