Familiar classics - Johann Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue in D major (c. 1700) - I. Sostenuto

History (based on materials from the Grove Dictionary of Music): Delibes’ “Sous le dôme épais“, Leoncavallo’s “I pagliacci“, Barber’s adagio for strings - the history of classical music is filled with many examples of so-called “one-hit wonders“. Yet no other composer could claim to be more “deserving“ of the title than Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) whose Canon in D major has literally thrown into oblivion all his other works. Pachelbel was outstandingly successful as an organist, composer and teacher during his lifetime, enjoying professional stability and the utmost respect of his colleagues and the public. This becomes especially clear when we consider that he was appointed, late in his life, the organist of St. Sebaldus, Nuremberg, a coveted post, without the customary examinations. Turning to the Canon in question, the circumstances of the piece’s composition are virtually unknown. There is the odd hypothesis that it may have been composed