Johann Pachelbel

• Genre: Baroque
• Hometown: Nuremberg

About

Some composers of the Baroque era still captivate our ears and minds, J.S. Bach and Handel being the most representative. Others, who may have been extremely important figures in their time, are either quite remote from modern audiences or are remembered by only one or two pieces. Pachelbel, like Albinoni, falls into the latter category. Who does not know his Canon and Gigue in D Major, perhaps one of the most popular classical pieces of all time (or at least of modern time; it gained it's current standing during the early 1970s)? With this piece, the composer created something so clear and succinct that one has to struggle to extricate it from one's mind. There is a strict bass part which descends with the utmost musical logic, over which a series of variations is played based on a simple and instantly memorable melody. Although Pachelbel of course composed other music -- music which can occasionally be found on recordings and Baroque samplers -- it is the Canon which has immortalized him.

- Will Lerner