Pachelbel's Canon

Canon in D Major is Johann Pachelbel's most well-known work.

Pachelbel's Canon (formally the Canon in D major; full German title: 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, however this composition is rarely performed or recorded today. It is well known for its chord progression which has become one of the most used in popular music.

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 (a 19th century arrangement of the second movement from Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3), and Albinoni's Adagio in G minor, which is a reconstruction of a lost piece by Tomaso Albinoni. A non-original viola pizzicato part is also commonly added (in a string orchestra or quartet setting) when a harpsichord player is not used to improvise harmonies over the bass line.

Structure

The first 9 bars of the Canon in D: the violins play a three-voice canon over the ground bass which provides the main theme. Colors are used to indicate individual variations, 3 out of 28 can be seen here in full.

The name Canon in D is slightly misleading because the piece is not a strict canon but rather a chaconne or a passacaglia. It is based, both harmonically and structurally, on a two-measure ground bass:

Ground bass of Pachelbel's canon

The same two-bar bass line and harmonic sequence repeated over and over, about 30 times in total. The chords of this sequence are: D major (tonic), A major (dominant), B minor (tonic parallel), F# minor (dominant parallel), G major (subdominant), D major (tonic), G major (subdominant), A major (dominant). The sequence (or rather, close imitations of it) appears elsewhere in the classical canon. Mozart employed it for a passage in Die Zauberflöte (1791), at the moment where the Three Youths 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 Haydn's nor Mozart's passage is an exact harmonic match to Pachelbel's, both deviating in the last two bars. For parallels in popular music, see below.

The actual canon is played over the bass by the violins. In the beginning, the first violin plays the first variation. After this is over, it starts playing the second variation, and the second violin starts playing the first variation. Then the first violin starts playing the third variation, the second violin starts playing the second variation, the third violin enters with the first variation, and so on. The structure of the canon becomes increasingly dense towards the middle of the piece as the variations grow in complexity. Afterwards, the piece gradually returns to a less complex structure. There are 28 variations in total. The canon is relatively simple and doesn't make use of any advanced counterpoint devices such as inversion, augmentation, diminution, etc.

Pachelbel's canon in popular culture

The Pachelbel canon may represent the most extraordinary instance of the crossover phenomenon in all of music. During a short period in the early 1970s it went from being a quite obscure work of early music to a universally familiar cultural item. It was played in countless versions in its original notes and instrumentation, as well as in arrangements for other instruments and in adaptations into other musical genres. The process shows no sign of abating.

The popularization is thought to have originated with the release of a 1970 recording of the work (Erato 98475) performed by the Paillard Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jean-François Paillard. It was also brought to recognition by what is often considered as the best recording of Pachelbel Canon, arranged and performed by Karl Münchinger with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 1970.

The canon was first adapted musically in a pop song by the Spanish vocal group Pop Tops on their 1968 hit "O Lord, Why Lord?", which made modest chart showings in both the USA (peaking at #79 on the Hot 100) and the Netherlands. In more recent times, Australian-British string quartet Bond played a modified, more updated version of the Pachelbel Canon in their song Lullaby on their 2004 album Classified.

The soundtrack of the film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser by Werner Herzog features the Canon, it was also used in the film's trailer.

The second half of Brian Eno's pioneering 1975 ambient music recording Discreet Music consists of a series of versions of Pachelbel's canon to which various algorithmic transformations have been applied, rendering it almost unrecognisable. In 1991, RCA released a compilation CD called Pachelbel's Greatest Hit. It contained eight different versions of the piece, including performances by James Galway, Isao Tomita, and the Canadian Brass. Also released that year was the P. D. Q. Bach album WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio, a spoof of classical radio and the canon's ubiquity there (WTWP stands for "wall-to-wall Pachelbel").

During a stand-up comedy routine on the Dr. Demento basement tapes, comedian Rob Paravonian recognizes the popular music takeover of Pachelbel's canon.

"The cello part in Pachelbel's canon is the most boring part ever written. It's 8 quarter notes repeated... 54 times - I counted, because I had nothing else to do... [Paravonian's count is exaggerated] I hated this piece. The violins got lovely melodies. The second violins got lovely melodies. The violas got lovely melodies, which should never happen. The cellists, we got eight notes. And if you ever wonder why, I think I've figured it out. I think Pachelbel must have dated a cellist, and she dissed him really bad. And so he just gave the cellists the worst parts he could ever think of. And you know, I wouldn't be bitter about it, except the man is following me. He's been dead for like 300 years but he's popping up everywhere."[note: there is no viola part, just three violin parts]

Paravonian continues on to note several songs in which he recognizes Pachelbel's influence, although this influence is likely coincidental, as many songs share the tonic-dominant-tonic parallel-dominant parallel pattern. He also characterizes Johann Pachelbel as the original one-hit wonder.

Mark Knopfler, known to have gone through a classical musical training, seems to have been inspired by the harmonies in Dire Straits' "Tunnel of Love" (1980)

Used as the main theme in the Academy Award winning 1980 film Ordinary People.

In 1998, french film director Gaspar Noé used the Canon in his film Seul contre tous.

Snapcase, a former metalcore band from Buffalo, New York adapted the melody and chord progression of the Canon for the song "ID/Hindsight" off of their 2002 album End Transmission.

In 2005, a video of a young Taiwanese guitarist calling himself JerryC - who arranged and performed an energetic rock version of Pachelbel's Canon on electric guitar - was widely viewed and discussed on the Internet, after appearing on websites such as YouTube and Google Video. And another performance of Jerry C's arrangement, this one by another young Korean guitarist calling himself "funtwo", became YouTube's single most-discussed video of all time.

Musical adaptations

The chord progression ("I V vi iii IV I IV V") of Pachelbel's canon has been incorporated into or otherwise influenced many pieces of contemporary music:

Year	Song	Band, Album	Misc
1918?	National Anthem of Russia	Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov
1966	Spicks & Specks	Bee Gees
1967	Don't Sleep In The Subway	Petula Clark
1968	Rain and Tears	Aphrodite's Child	Minor UK Hit, Most Popular in France
1969	Streets of London	Ralph McTell	Guitar and vocals
1969	One Tin Soldier	Coven
1974	Wenn ein Mensch lebt	Puhdys	A German version of Bee Gees' "Spicks &Specks" with a different vocal melody.
1975	Three Variations on the Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel	Brian Eno: Discreet Music
1978	Go West	(Morali Belolo Willis) Village People
1982	Eyes Of The World	Fleetwood Mac, Mirage	used in the intro and bridge
1985	Variations on the Kanon by Johann Pachelbel	George Winston December	album
1985	Take on Me	A-Ha	"Most times only the last 4 of the progression but there seems to be more pachelbel in it"
1986	Hometown	Joe Jackson Big World	when played live as a piano/vocal
1988	Love In The First Degree	(Stock Aitken Waterman Woodward Fahey Dallin) Bananarama	single
1988	I Should Be So Lucky	Kylie Minogue	single
1989	Someday We Will All Be Together	Claire Hamill	single
1991	Ingame music	Utopia Gremlin Graphics	video game
1991	Lemmings intro	Super Nintendo	video game
1991	All Together Now	The Farm	single
1991	O Teatro dos Vampiros	Legião Urbana	introduction
1992	The Tacobel Canon	Christine Lavin Sometimes Mother Really Does Know Best	lyrics about Taco Bell's food
1992	The Longest Line	NOFX also covered by Blink 182	just the chorus part
1992	Mega Man 4 intro	Ojalin, Bun Bun	video game
1993	Go West	Pet Shop Boys	Village People cover
1993	Christmas Eve	Tatsuro Yamashita
1994	Basket Case	Green Day	song
1994	Domain	Future Sound of London on Lifeforms
1995	Forbidden Paradise (Deep Trance Mix)	DJ Tiesto
1995	Scatman's World	Scatman John	hit
1995	Don't Look Back in Anger	Oasis	hit
1995	Pachelbel's Prayer	Sam Rowland
1995	There's A Key	2 Brothers On The 4th Floor
1996	Christmas Time	2 Brothers On The 4th Floor
1996	I Got to Tell you	Dr. Octagon "Octagynecologist"	Kool Keith delivering a fake radio advertisement over Pachelbel's Canon.
1996	Hook	Blues Traveler
1996	Sucked Out	Superdrag
1996	Alármala De Tos	Café Tacuba Avalancha De Exitos
1996	Surfin' Pachelbel, Poppin' Pachelbel, Waikiki Pachelbel	LIV & LET LIV
1997	Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space	Spiritualized	album title track
1997	Maciek, ja tylko żartowałem	Kazik
1997	C U When U Get There	Coolio
1997	E-5 piece (EVA-00 and its derivatives)	Neon Genesis Evangelion Shiro Sagisu
1997	Estoy Tan Cansado	Moenia	Spanish pop song
1997	JE ME SOUVIENS	Menelik
1997	To Love You More	Celine Dion, Let's Talk About Love	Pop hit
1997	(Pachabel) Cannon	the drapes	"The Silent War..." album track 7
1998	Christmas Canon	Trans-Siberian Orchestra The Christmas Attic	Christmas Lyrics
1998	Let the Music heal your Soul	Backstreet Boys N Sync ... Bravo All Stars
1998	't Dondert en het bliksemt (Meters Bier)	Guus Meeuwis	single
1998	Opus 40	Mercury Rev	single
1998	On and On and On	Catch 22's Keasbey Nights	reference in the middle of the song
1998	Crazy	Maria Lux
1998	Ring of Steel	Nocturnal Rites
1999	Graduation (Friends Forever)	Vitamin C
2000	Mr. Pachebel Takes A Vacation	Cam Newton
2000	Pachelvis	Lapsus String Quartet
2000	Canon in D [Silver Mix] (also titled as "Pachelbel's Canon (Silver Remix)")	The Cynic Project	"Mixed And Remixed Volume 2" album track 15
2000	In Me 너에게	People Crew
2000	An Improvisation on the Canon	Robin Spielberg	bonus track of album "Dreaming of Summer"
2001	La Belle et le Bad Boy	MC Solaar	track
2001	Crack City Rockers	ska/punk band Leftöver Crack	song
2001	Este Canon	Alejandro Filio	Trova Song
2001	My Sassy Girl	Hyun-seok Kim
2001	Firefly	A-Teens	chorus
2002	Can't Stop Loving You	Phil Collins
2002	Canon in DD	Emocapella	parody
2002	Set This World On Fire	Rage (band)	metal
2002	ID/Hindsight	Snapcase	melody and chord progression
2002	Canon	Zox, Take Me Home	reggae/punk with violin
2003	Section 9 (Light & Day/Reach for the Sun)	The Polyphonic Spree The Beginning Stages Of...	almost identical vocal melody
2003	Looking For Something	Era	album The Mass
2003	I Want To Get Married	Showbread	album Life, Kisses And Other Wasted Efforts
2003	Everytime	Britney Spears	In the Zone
2003	Sanctus	Phantom Regiment from Rockford, Illinois	Show title - Harmonic Journey; lyrical variation used.
2003	Love Is Color-Blind	Sarah Connor
2003	Pachelbel 8000	Mars
2003	Storm II	Seventh Avenue
2004	A Poem For The Firmament	Elvenking, Wyrd
2004	Pachel Bells	"internet"	jingle bells melody
2004	Life Is Cool	Sweetbox	single
2004	Lullaby	Classified Bond	Pop Arrangement
2004	Volverte A Ver	Juanes
2004	Canon-D Part of Memories #1	Banya	anime-style music video
2004	Canon Ball	Jan Vayne
2004	Skachabelian Ballad (Lola and Mani)	Three Years Accident Free
2004	HEAVEN RIDE (CANON)	angels
2004	Paris	Delerium
2004	Pachelbel meets U2	Jon Schmidt
2005	Die Eine 2005	Die Firma	single
2005	?	JACOBS DREAM	hidden bonus track of album "Drama Of The Ages"
2005	Lookin' On The Sunny Side	M.O.V.E. Japanese rock	Eurobeat track
2005	Big City Life	Mattafix	single
2005	RISE	Lutricia McNeal
2005	RECONSTRUCTED CANON	BIKINI RUMBLE
2005	Canon Rock	JerryC	rock arrangement/guitar solo
?	Christmas Canon Rock	Trans-Siberian Orchestra The Lost Christmas Eve	Christmas Lyrics & E-guitar
?	Jolly Old Saint Nicholas	?
?	Seek Ye First	?	hymn accompaniment
?	Alle hater Oral B	?	Norwegian Hip-Hop by Oral B
?	CanoN (O2 Version)+ by Dr. 꽃샤�"�	O2Jam	techno
?	Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us	Burger King jingle	commercial opening
?	Re-made by Yngwie J. Malmsteen, (a heavy metal/classical guitarist)
2006	?	Coca-Cola commercial for the World Cup 2006
2006	King Of Minneapolis pt. IV	Bomb The Music Industry!
2006	Ballad Redux	The Billingsgate Players
?	Pachelbel's Cannon	Temporarily Blank	Power-pop adaptation by London-based band
2006	Tacobel Canon	Ratatat Classics	Closing track

Other uses

* Football fans in Europe, especially in the Netherlands, are known to use the basic melody to chant in stadiums. One popular Dutch text is "'t is stil aan de overkant" ("it's quiet on the other side"), which they repeat over and over again and which can also sometimes be heard at other sporting events that take place in stadiums, such as ice skating.
* At least one big-city National Public Radio station, during the time of the Taco Bell TV ads involving a "talking" Chihuahua dog, posted a billboard reading, "Yo quiero Pachelbel!".
*The Magyspy theme in the Gameboy Advance Game "Mother 3" is a remix of Canon in D.
*The World Cup 2006 Coca-Cola TV ads feature the melody from Canon D.
* The track "I Got To Tell You" from Dr Octagon's self titled album is based on a prominently featured sample from Canon in D. It is basically Canon itself with an added hip hop drumline and a mock commercial for Octagon's bizzare medical services spoken over it.
* A theme of Korean film : The Classic （假如愛有天意 in Chinese )

Media

Resources

*PDF of the score to Canon & Gigue.

External links

*Information on the Paillard recording
*A list of over 460 recordings
*Forever Canon
*Canon Love
*Website about Canon In D
*Free easy piano arrangement of Canon in D at Easybyte
*The musical roots of the songs "Seek ye First" and "Streets of London" in Johann
*The Canon In D Rock by JerryC