Pachelbel's Canon

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Pachelbel's Canon (also known as Canon in D, P 37) is an accompanied canon by German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706). The canon was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue, known as Canon and Gigue for 3 violins and basso continuo. Both movements are in the key of D major. The piece is constructed as a true canon at the unison in three parts, with a fourth part as a ground bass throughout. Neither the date nor the circumstances of its composition are known (suggested dates range from 1680 to 1706), and the oldest surviving manuscript copy of the piece dates from 1838 to 1842. Like his other works, Pachelbel's Canon went out of style, and remained in obscurity for centuries. A 1968 arrangement and recording of it by the Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra gained popularity over the next decade, and in the 1970s the piece began to be recorded by many ensembles, while elements of the piece, especially its chord progression, were used...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Johann Pachelbel (music), Anon. (this manuscript copy), Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (scan), IMSLP user Feduol (IMSLP upload), Public domain