September is a great month to learn about Pachelbel! The closest recorded date we have to his birthday is his baptism on September 1st, so in honor of the occasion I've put together this free (and shorter length for kids!) packet to learn about his life, what a canon is, and a fun word search to try out after the reading.
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the full printable version of the packet!
BIOGRAPHY
Johann Pachelbel was a famous organist (pipe organ player), teacher, and music composer hundreds of years ago during the Baroque music period. Born in 1653, Pachelbel had the good fortune of growing up in the German city of Nuremberg, an important musical and cultural center at the time. Years before, a famous musician by the name of Johann Staden lived there. He was a master composer and teacher that would prove to have a very significant influence on music.
Neither of Pachelbel’s parents were musicians, but they could tell at a young age that he was very gifted musically and academically, so they made sure he received lessons to develop his talents. Pachelbel studied organ with several prominent musicians of the day that had ties back to Staden. He was so advanced that he enrolled in a university when he was just fifteen years old! Unfortunately, he had to leave within a year because his family couldn’t afford the expensive tuition. Pachelbel finished his studies at a high school where he was granted a scholarship because he was such an impressive student. In fact, the school technically didn’t have room for him, but he was so impressive that they accepted him anyway.
After his studies, Pachelbel went on to have a very successful career working as an organist and composer in various churches and royal courts. Throughout his different jobs and travels, he met many important musicians of the day including the notorious Bach family. He was good friends with Johann Ambrosius Bach (father of the infamous Johann Sebastian Bach) and was an important figure in the lives of the Bach children. Pachelbel was named as God Father to Johanna Juditha Bach, and taught Johann Cristoph Bach. Johann Cristoph would eventually become his younger brother, Johann Sebastian’s, first music teacher.
Pachelbel died in 1706 at 52 years old. He had a total of eight children, several of which went on to have their own successful careers in music and art. Throughout his life, Pachelbel composed hundreds of works including more than 200 organ pieces, roughly 100 choir and vocal works, and a handful of chamber music pieces. Chamber music is music written for small groups of musicians known as “ensembles”. Interestingly, it’s this smallest category of Pachelbel’s compositions that includes his most famous work, Canon in D.
CANON IN D
Canon in D is undoubtedly one of the most famous musical pieces of all time. It was originally composed for three violins and basso continuo (a bass part usually played with keyboard, cello, or some other low-sounding instrument). We don’t know much about the history of the famous Canon, but it’s been suggested that Pachelbel composed it for the wedding of Johann Cristoph Bach in 1694. Many talented friends and family composed music for the special event.
A canon is a type of song that uses what’s known as “repetition”. Canon in D starts with just basso continuo that keeps repeating the same pattern of notes for the entire piece. After we hear one round of this pattern, the first violin joins in playing the main theme we all recognize. After that theme is completed, the second violin begins playing the exact same theme. Finally, the third violin comes in with the theme so that all three violins are playing the same notes, but not at the same time. It’s the three violins repeating each other that make this piece a “canon”.
Canon in D wasn’t officially published until 1919, over 200 years after it was composed. It was eventually recorded for the first time over twenty years after publication, but still wasn’t commonly known. Then in 1968, the Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra recorded Canon, but they made some changes. Everything was slowed down and extra notes were added to make the piece sound more romantic. This new version of the piece became incredibly famous in the 1970’s and was constantly played on the radio. By 1980 it was being used in Hollywood films and became a standard for wedding ceremonies. Since then, Canon in D has been recorded countless times in a variety of styles and arrangements as well as some pretty entertaining and hilarious videos on youtube.
Check out the free PDF download of the complete Johann Pachelbel packet!
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