Analysis of a Musical Work - Canon in D Major

The musical work that I chose is Canon in D Major. The composer of this piece is Johann Pachelbel, published in 1919. The genre of this piece is classical and the musical form was in the Baroque period. Baroque is an artistic style that started in the late 16th century to the early 18th century in Europe. The popularity and success of this period was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church. The Canon in D major is the most famous piece of music by composer Johann Pachelbel. This piece was originally made for three violins and basso continuo and was paired with a lively Baroque dance in the same key.

Canon in D Major is a polyphonic piece compared to monophonic and homophonic. Polyphonic is multiple melodic voices which are independent from or in imitation with one another. This type is most common in Renaissance music which is during the Baroque period. Monophonic includes a single melodic line with no accompaniment. Homophonic is multiple voices of which one, the melody, stands out prominently and the others form a background of harmonic accompaniment.

Johann Pachelbel was mostly known for his chamber works, which most of them were lost. Chamber works is a form of classical music written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. This includes art music which is performed by a small amount of performers where one performer has a part. But this does not include solo instrument performances. Chamber signifies that the music can be performed in a small private room with an intimate atmosphere. Canon in D major is one of those chamber pieces that happen to be published during his lifetime. A copy of this piece survives in the Berlin State Library. Cannon in D major was written for Johann Christoph Bach, who was a former pupil of Johann Pachelbel, and Johann Sebastian Bach's oldest brother. It was written for his wedding which was on October 23, 1694, which Johann Pachelbel attended. The Canon was first published in 1919 by Gustav Beckmann. It was first recorded in 1940 by Arthur Fiedler and the first famous recording of the Canon was made by the Jean-Francois Paillard chamber orchestra.

The Canon in D Major combines the techniques of canon and ground bass. Each instrument plays the same music but enters one by one, each after a delay of one another. There is also a bass which plays their own part which is different from the violins part. The bass repeats the same two bar line throughout the piece. There are no lyrics of this piece.

Johann Pachelbel was born in 1653 in Nuremberg, Germany. He was born into a middle class family where his father Johann Pachelbel was a wine dealer, and his mother Anna Maria Mair. When Pachelbel was younger he received musical training from Heinrich Schwemmer who was a musician and music teacher. Pachelbel received his primary education in St. Lorenz Hauptschule in Nuremberg, and then later attended the University of Altdorf,