94-426: Johann Pachelbel (also Bachelbel ; baptised 11 September [ O.S. 1 September] 1653 – buried 9 March 1706) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of
188-464: A Finale movement. Partie a 4 in G major features no figuration for the lower part, which means that it was not a basso continuo and that, as Jean M. Perreault writes, "this work may well count as the first true string quartet, at least within the Germanophone domain." Johann Gottfried Walther famously described Pachelbel's vocal works as "more perfectly executed than anything before them". Already
282-519: A coppersmith , on 24 August 1684. They had five sons and two daughters. Two of the sons, Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel and Charles Theodore Pachelbel , also became organ composers; the latter moved to the American colonies in 1734. Another son, Johann Michael, became an instrument maker in Nuremberg and traveled as far as London and Jamaica . One of the daughters, Amalia Pachelbel , achieved recognition as
376-634: A few pieces designated as chorale variations. Four works of the latter type were published in Erfurt in 1683 under the title Musicalische Sterbens-Gedancken ("Musical Thoughts on Death"), which might refer to the death of Pachelbel's first wife that occurred in the same year. This was Pachelbel's first published work and it is now partially lost. These pieces, along with Georg Böhm 's works, may or may not have influenced Johann Sebastian Bach's early organ partitas . About 20 toccatas by Pachelbel survive, including several brief pieces referred to as toccatinas in
470-435: A few two- and four-voice works are present, most employ three voices (sometimes expanding to four-voice polyphony for a bar or two). With the exception of the three double fugues (primi toni No. 12, sexti toni No. 1 and octavi toni No. 8), all are straightforward pieces, frequently in common time and comparatively short – at an average tempo, most take around a minute and a half to play. Although most of them are brief,
564-681: A five-part chorus, 4 trumpets, timpani, 2 violins, a single viola and two violas da gamba , bassoon, basso continuo and organ. Old Style and New Style dates Old Style ( O.S. ) and New Style ( N.S. ) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 1582 and 1923. In England , Wales , Ireland and Britain's American colonies , there were two calendar changes, both in 1752. The first adjusted
658-428: A fixed structure: the allemande is only present in two suites, the gigues in four, two suites end with a chaconne , and the fourth suite contains two arias . Pachelbel's other chamber music includes an aria and variations ( Aria con variazioni in A major ) and four standalone suites scored for a string quartet or a typical French five-part string ensemble with 2 violins, 2 violas and a violone (the latter reinforces
752-506: A letter dated "12/22 Dec. 1635". In his biography of John Dee , The Queen's Conjurer , Benjamin Woolley surmises that because Dee fought unsuccessfully for England to embrace the 1583/84 date set for the change, "England remained outside the Gregorian system for a further 170 years, communications during that period customarily carrying two dates". In contrast, Thomas Jefferson , who lived while
846-513: A native of Nuremberg), in the employ of Johann Georg I , Duke of Saxe-Eisenach . He met members of the Bach family in Eisenach (which was the home city of J. S. Bach's father, Johann Ambrosius Bach ), and became a close friend of Johann Ambrosius and tutor to his children. However, Pachelbel spent only one year in Eisenach. In 1678, Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Jena , Johann Georg's brother, died and during
940-447: A non- imitative manner. The second employs the violins in an imitative, sometimes homophonic structure, that uses shorter note values . The dance movements of the suites show traces of Italian (in the gigues of suites 2 and 6) and German ( allemande appears in suites 1 and 2) influence, but the majority of the movements are clearly influenced by the French style. The suites do not adhere to
1034-423: A notational system that uses hollow note heads and omits bar lines (measure delimiters). The system had been widely used since the 15th century but was gradually being replaced in this period by modern notation (sometimes called black notation ). Chorale preludes constitute almost half of Pachelbel's surviving organ works, in part because of his Erfurt job duties which required him to compose chorale preludes on
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#17328589400701128-491: A painter and engraver . Although Pachelbel was an outstandingly successful organist, composer, and teacher at Erfurt, he asked permission to leave, apparently seeking a better appointment, and was formally released on 15 August 1690, bearing a testimonial praising his diligence and fidelity. He was employed in less than a fortnight: from 1 September 1690, he was a musician-organist in the Württemberg court at Stuttgart under
1222-410: A prime example). The contrapuntal devices of stretto , diminution and inversion are very rarely employed in any of them. Nevertheless, Pachelbel's fugues display a tendency towards a more unified, subject-dependent structure which was to become the key element of late Baroque fugues. Given the number of fugues he composed and the extraordinary variety of subjects he used, Pachelbel is regarded as one of
1316-510: A pupil of Johann Staden . Johann Mattheson , whose Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte (Hamburg, 1740) is one of the most important sources of information about Pachelbel's life, mentions that the young Pachelbel demonstrated exceptional musical and academic abilities. He received his primary education in St. Lorenz Hauptschule and the Auditorio Aegediano in Nuremberg, then on 29 June 1669, he became
1410-400: A regular basis. The models Pachelbel used most frequently are the three-part cantus firmus setting, the chorale fugue and, most importantly, a model he invented which combined the two types. This latter type begins with a brief chorale fugue that is followed by a three- or four-part cantus firmus setting. Chorale phrases are treated one at a time, in the order in which they occur; frequently,
1504-499: A shift from the older chaconne style: they completely abandon the dance idiom, introduce contrapuntal density, employ miscellaneous chorale improvisation techniques, and, most importantly, give the bass line much thematic significance for the development of the piece. Pachelbel's chaconnes are distinctly south German in style; the duple meter C major chaconne (possibly an early work) is reminiscent of Kerll's D minor passacaglia. The remaining five works are all in triple meter and display
1598-415: A simple style in which two voices interact over sustained pedal notes, and said interaction – already much simpler than the virtuosic passages in earlier works – sometimes resorts to consecutive thirds, sixths or tenths. Compare the earlier D major toccata, with passages in the typical middle Baroque style, with one of the late C major toccatas: Sometimes a bar or two of consecutive thirds embellish
1692-878: A start-of-year adjustment works well with little confusion for events before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Battle of Agincourt is well known to have been fought on 25 October 1415, which is Saint Crispin's Day . However, for the period between the first introduction of the Gregorian calendar on 15 October 1582 and its introduction in Britain on 14 September 1752, there can be considerable confusion between events in Continental Western Europe and in British domains. Events in Continental Western Europe are usually reported in English-language histories by using
1786-523: A student at the University of Altdorf , where he was also appointed organist of St. Lorenz church the same year. Financial difficulties forced Pachelbel to leave the university after less than a year. In order to complete his studies, he became a scholarship student, in 1670, at the Gymnasium Poeticum at Regensburg . The school authorities were so impressed by Pachelbel's academic qualifications that he
1880-458: A surviving letter indicates, had to reject the offer after a long series of negotiations: it appears that he was required to consult with Erfurt's elders and church authorities before considering any job offers. It seems that the situation had been resolved quietly and without harm to Pachelbel's reputation; he was offered a raise and stayed in the city for four more years. Pachelbel married twice during his stay in Erfurt. Barbara Gabler, daughter of
1974-528: A very wide range of styles: psalm settings ( Gott ist unser Zuversicht ), chorale concertos ( Christ lag in Todesbanden ), sets of chorale variations ( Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan ), concerted motets , etc. The ensembles for which these works are scored are equally diverse: from the famous D major Magnificat setting written for a 4-part choir, 4 violas and basso continuo, to the Magnificat in C major scored for
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#17328589400702068-461: A wide variety of moods and techniques, concentrating on melodic content (as opposed to the emphasis on harmonic complexity and virtuosity in Buxtehude's chaconnes). The ostinato bass is not necessarily repeated unaltered throughout the piece and is sometimes subjected to minor alterations and ornamentation. The D major, D minor and F minor chaconnes are among Pachelbel's best-known organ pieces, and
2162-526: Is 9 February 1649, the date by which his contemporaries in some parts of continental Europe would have recorded his execution. The O.S./N.S. designation is particularly relevant for dates which fall between the start of the "historical year" (1 January) and the legal start date, where different. This was 25 March in England, Wales, Ireland and the colonies until 1752, and until 1600 in Scotland. In Britain, 1 January
2256-418: Is a set of six chamber suites for two scordatura violins and basso continuo published sometime after 1695. At the time, scordatura tuning was used to produce special effects and execute tricky passages. However, Pachelbel's collection was intended for amateur violinists, and scordatura tuning is used here as a basic introduction to the technique. Scordatura only involves the tonic , dominant and sometimes
2350-404: Is also found in the ending of the shorter D minor piece, where three voices engage in imitative counterpoint. In pairs of preludes and fugues Pachelbel aimed to separate homophonic, improvisatory texture of the prelude from the strict counterpoint of the fugue. Around 20 dance suites transmitted in a 1683 manuscript (now destroyed) were previously attributed to Pachelbel, but today his authorship
2444-434: Is also the best-known today, is subtitled Aria Sebaldina , a reference to St. Sebaldus Church where Pachelbel worked at the time. Most of the variations are in common time, with Aria Sebaldina and its variations being the only notable exceptions; they are in 3/4 time. The pieces explore a wide range of variation techniques. Pachelbel's other variation sets include a few arias and an arietta (a short aria) with variations and
2538-414: Is based on the hymn by Johann Gramann , a paraphrase of Psalm 103 ; it is one of the very few Pachelbel chorales with cantus firmus in the tenor. " Wir glauben all an einen Gott " is a three-part setting with melodic ornamentation of the chorale melody, which Pachelbel employed very rarely. Finally, "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland der von uns" is a typical bicinium chorale with one of the hands playing
2632-867: Is for Louis Couperin . Among the more significant materials are several manuscripts that were lost before and during World War II but partially available as microfilms of the Winterthur collection, a two-volume manuscript currently in possession of the Oxford Bodleian Library which is a major source for Pachelbel's late work, and the first part of the Tabulaturbuch (1692, currently at the Biblioteka Jagiellońska in Kraków ) compiled by Pachelbel's pupil Johann Valentin Eckelt [ ca ] , which includes
2726-462: Is questioned for all but three suites, numbers 29, 32 and 33B in the Seiffert edition. The pieces are clearly not without French influence (but not so much as Buxtehude's) and are comparable in terms of style and technique to Froberger's suites. Seventeen keys are used, including F-sharp minor . Number 29 has all four traditional movements, the other two authentic pieces only have three (no gigue ), and
2820-647: Is the least documented one, so it is unknown whether he stayed in Regensburg until 1673 or left the same year his teacher did; at any rate, by 1673 Pachelbel was living in Vienna, where he became a deputy organist at the Saint Stephen Cathedral . At the time, Vienna was the center of the vast Habsburg empire and had much cultural importance; its tastes in music were predominantly Italian. Several renowned cosmopolitan composers worked there, many of them contributing to
2914-513: The Hexachordum Apollinis to Dieterich Buxtehude . Also composed in the final years were Italian-influenced concertato Vespers and a set of more than ninety Magnificat fugues . Johann Pachelbel died at the age of 52, in early March 1706, and was buried on 9 March; Mattheson cites either 3 March or 7 March 1706 as the death date, yet it is unlikely that the corpse was allowed to linger unburied as long as six days. Contemporary custom
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3008-592: The Russian Empire and the very beginning of Soviet Russia . For example, in the article "The October (November) Revolution", the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the format of "25 October (7 November, New Style)" to describe the date of the start of the revolution. The Latin equivalents, which are used in many languages, are, on the one hand, stili veteris (genitive) or stilo vetere (ablative), abbreviated st.v. , and meaning "(of/in) old style" ; and, on
3102-416: The cantor of St. Sebaldus Church ( Sebalduskirche ). Some sources indicate that Pachelbel also studied with Georg Caspar Wecker , organist of the same church and an important composer of the Nuremberg school, but this is now considered unlikely. In any case, both Wecker and Schwemmer were trained by Johann Erasmus Kindermann , one of the founders of the Nuremberg musical tradition, who had been at one time
3196-446: The subdominant notes. Each suite of Musikalische Ergötzung begins with an introductory Sonata or Sonatina in one movement. In suites 1 and 3 these introductory movements are Allegro three-voice fughettas and stretti . The other four sonatas are reminiscent of French overtures . They have two Adagio sections which juxtapose slower and faster rhythms: the first section uses patterns of dotted quarter and eighth notes in
3290-532: The 4th century , had drifted from reality . The Gregorian calendar reform also dealt with the accumulated difference between these figures, between the years 325 and 1582, by skipping 10 days to set the ecclesiastical date of the equinox to be 21 March, the median date of its occurrence at the time of the First Council of Nicea in 325. Countries that adopted the Gregorian calendar after 1699 needed to skip an additional day for each subsequent new century that
3384-615: The Bach family celebrated the marriage on 23 October 1694 in Ohrdruf , and invited him and other composers to provide the music; he probably attended—if so, it was the only time Johann Sebastian Bach , then nine years old, met Johann Pachelbel. In his three years in Gotha, he was twice offered positions, in Germany at Stuttgart and in England at Oxford University ; he declined both. Meanwhile, in Nuremberg, when
3478-579: The Boyne was commemorated with smaller parades on 1 July. However, both events were combined in the late 18th century, and continue to be celebrated as " The Twelfth ". Because of the differences, British writers and their correspondents often employed two dates, a practice called dual dating , more or less automatically. Letters concerning diplomacy and international trade thus sometimes bore both Julian and Gregorian dates to prevent confusion. For example, Sir William Boswell wrote to Sir John Coke from The Hague
3572-504: The British Isles and colonies converted to the Gregorian calendar, instructed that his tombstone bear his date of birth by using the Julian calendar (notated O.S. for Old Style) and his date of death by using the Gregorian calendar. At Jefferson's birth, the difference was eleven days between the Julian and Gregorian calendars and so his birthday of 2 April in the Julian calendar is 13 April in
3666-410: The British colonies, changed the start of the year from 25 March to 1 January, with effect from "the day after 31 December 1751". (Scotland had already made this aspect of the changes, on 1 January 1600.) The second (in effect ) adopted the Gregorian calendar in place of the Julian calendar. Thus "New Style" can refer to the start-of-year adjustment , to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar , or to
3760-612: The Gregorian calendar. For example, the Battle of Blenheim is always given as 13 August 1704. However, confusion occurs when an event involves both. For example, William III of England arrived at Brixham in England on 5 November (Julian calendar), after he had set sail from the Netherlands on 11 November (Gregorian calendar) 1688. The Battle of the Boyne in Ireland took place a few months later on 1 July 1690 (Julian calendar). That maps to 11 July (Gregorian calendar), conveniently close to
3854-466: The Gregorian calendar. Similarly, George Washington is now officially reported as having been born on 22 February 1732, rather than on 11 February 1731/32 (Julian calendar). The philosopher Jeremy Bentham , born on 4 February 1747/8 (Julian calendar), in later life celebrated his birthday on 15 February. There is some evidence that the calendar change was not easily accepted. Many British people continued to celebrate their holidays "Old Style" well into
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3948-430: The Julian and Gregorian dating systems respectively. The need to correct the calendar arose from the realisation that the correct figure for the number of days in a year is not 365.25 (365 days 6 hours) as assumed by the Julian calendar but slightly less (c. 365.242 days). The Julian calendar therefore has too many leap years . The consequence was that the basis for the calculation of the date of Easter , as decided in
4042-564: The Julian calendar had added since then. When the British Empire did so in 1752, the gap had grown to eleven days; when Russia did so (as its civil calendar ) in 1918, thirteen days needed to be skipped. In the Kingdom of Great Britain and its possessions, the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 introduced two concurrent changes to the calendar. The first, which applied to England, Wales, Ireland and
4136-510: The Julian date of the subsequent (and more decisive) Battle of Aughrim on 12 July 1691 (Julian). The latter battle was commemorated annually throughout the 18th century on 12 July, following the usual historical convention of commemorating events of that period within Great Britain and Ireland by mapping the Julian date directly onto the modern Gregorian calendar date (as happens, for example, with Guy Fawkes Night on 5 November). The Battle of
4230-498: The Perreault catalogue. They are characterized by consistent use of pedal point : for the most part, Pachelbel's toccatas consist of relatively fast passagework in both hands over sustained pedal notes. Although a similar technique is employed in toccatas by Froberger and Frescobaldi 's pedal toccatas, Pachelbel distinguishes himself from these composers by having no sections with imitative counterpoint–in fact, unlike most toccatas from
4324-460: The St. Sebaldus Church organist Georg Caspar Wecker (and his possible former teacher) died on 20 April 1695, the city authorities were so anxious to appoint Pachelbel (then a famous Nuremberger) to the position that they officially invited him to assume it without holding the usual job examination or inviting applications from prominent organists from lesser churches. He accepted, was released from Gotha in 1695, and arrived in Nuremberg in summer, with
4418-571: The Stadt-Major of Erfurt, became his first wife, on 25 October 1681. The marriage took place in the house of the bride's father. Both Barbara and their only son died in October 1683 during a plague. Pachelbel's first published work, a set of chorale variations called Musicalische Sterbens-Gedancken ("Musical Thoughts on Death", Erfurt, 1683), was probably influenced by this event. Ten months later, Pachelbel married Judith Drommer (Trummert), daughter of
4512-488: The accompanying voices anticipate the next phrase by using bits of the melody in imitative counterpoint. An example from Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist : The piece begins with a chorale fugue (not shown here) that turns into a four-part chorale setting which starts at bar 35. The slow-moving chorale (the cantus firmus , i.e., the original hymn tune ) is in the soprano, and is highlighted in blue. The lower voices anticipate
4606-535: The basso continuo). Of these, the five-part suite in G major ( Partie a 5 in G major ) is a variation suite, where each movement begins with a theme from the opening sonatina; like its four-part cousin ( Partie a 4 in G major ) and the third standalone suite ( Partie a 4 in F-sharp minor ) it updates the German suite model by using the latest French dances such as the gavotte or the ballet. The three pieces mentioned all end with
4700-504: The chorales. Household instruments like virginals or clavichords accompanied the singing, so Pachelbel and many of his contemporaries made music playable using these instruments. The quality of the organs Pachelbel used also played a role: south German instruments were not, as a rule, as complex and as versatile as the north German ones, and Pachelbel's organs must have only had around 15 to 25 stops on two manuals (compare to Buxtehude 's Marienkirche instrument with 52 stops, 15 of them in
4794-423: The city council paying his per diem expenses. Pachelbel lived the rest of his life in Nuremberg, during which he published the chamber music collection Musicalische Ergötzung , and, most importantly, the Hexachordum Apollinis (Nuremberg, 1699), a set of six keyboard arias with variations. Though most influenced by Italian and southern German composers, he knew the northern German school, because he dedicated
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#17328589400704888-486: The combination of the two. It was through their use in the Calendar Act that the notations "Old Style" and "New Style" came into common usage. When recording British history, it is usual to quote the date as originally recorded at the time of the event, but with the year number adjusted to start on 1 January. The latter adjustment may be needed because the start of the civil calendar year had not always been 1 January and
4982-686: The earliest examples of Pachelbel's vocal writing, two arias "So ist denn dies der Tag" and "So ist denn nur die Treu" composed in Erfurt in 1679 (which are also Pachelbel's earliest datable pieces,) display impressive mastery of large-scale composition ("So ist denn dies der Tag" is scored for soprano , SATB choir, 2 violins, 3 violas, 4 trumpets, timpani and basso continuo ) and exceptional knowledge of contemporary techniques. These latter features are also found in Pachelbel's Vespers pieces and sacred concertos, large-scale compositions which are probably his most important vocal works. Almost all of them adopt
5076-408: The early and middle Baroque periods, Pachelbel's contributions to the genre are not sectional, unless rhapsodic introductory passages in a few pieces (most notably the E minor toccata) are counted as separate sections. Furthermore, no other Baroque composer used pedal point with such consistency in toccatas. Many of Pachelbel's toccatas explore a single melodic motif , and later works are written in
5170-533: The end of the following December, 1661/62 , a form of dual dating to indicate that in the following twelve weeks or so, the year was 1661 Old Style but 1662 New Style. Some more modern sources, often more academic ones (e.g. the History of Parliament ) also use the 1661/62 style for the period between 1 January and 24 March for years before the introduction of the New Style calendar in England. The Gregorian calendar
5264-491: The exchange of musical traditions in Europe. In particular, Johann Jakob Froberger served as court organist in Vienna until 1657 and was succeeded by Alessandro Poglietti . Georg Muffat lived in the city for some time, and, most importantly, Johann Caspar Kerll moved to Vienna in 1673. While there, he may have known or even taught Pachelbel, whose music shows traces of Kerll's style. Pachelbel spent five years in Vienna, absorbing
5358-403: The key composers in the evolution of the form. He was also the first major composer to pair a fugue with a preludial movement (a toccata or a prelude) – this technique was adopted by later composers and was used extensively by J. S. Bach. The Magnificat Fugues were all composed during Pachelbel's final years in Nuremberg. The singing of the Magnificat at Vespers was usually accompanied by
5452-475: The latter is often cited as his best organ work. In 1699 Pachelbel published Hexachordum Apollinis (the title is a reference to Apollo 's lyre ), a collection of six variations set in different keys . It is dedicated to composers Ferdinand Tobias Richter (a friend from the Vienna years) and Dieterich Buxtehude . Each set follows the "aria and variations" model, arias numbered Aria prima through Aria sexta ("first" through "sixth"). The final piece, which
5546-463: The leading German organ composers of the time during his stay. The chorale prelude became one of his most characteristic products of the Erfurt period, since Pachelbel's contract specifically required him to compose the preludes for church services . His duties also included organ maintenance and, more importantly, composing a large-scale work every year to demonstrate his progress as composer and organist, as every work of that kind had to be better than
5640-568: The melody: the cantus firmus features virtually no figuration or ornamentation of any kind, always presented in the plainest possible way in one of the outer voices. Pachelbel's knowledge of both ancient and contemporary chorale techniques is reflected in Acht Choräle zum Praeambulieren , a collection of eight chorales he published in 1693. It included, among other types, several chorales written using outdated models. Of these, "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren"
5734-558: The middle Baroque era. Pachelbel's music enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime; he had many pupils and his music became a model for the composers of south and central Germany . Today, Pachelbel is best known for the Canon in D ; other well known works include the Chaconne in F minor , the Toccata in E minor for organ, and the Hexachordum Apollinis , a set of keyboard variations . He
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#17328589400705828-462: The modern concertato idiom and many are scored for unusually large groups of instruments ( Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt (in C) uses four trumpets, timpani , 2 violins, 3 violas, violone and basso continuo ; Lobet den Herrn in seinem Heiligtum is scored for a five-part chorus, two flutes, bassoon, five trumpets, trombone, drums, cymbals , harp , two violins, basso continuo and organ). Pachelbel explores
5922-400: The most complete catalogue; organized alphabetically), Hideo Tsukamoto (T numbers, L for lost works; organized thematically) and Kathryn Jane Welter (PC numbers). Much of Pachelbel's liturgical organ music, particularly the chorale preludes , is relatively simple and written for manuals only: no pedal is required. This is partly due to Lutheran religious practice where congregants sang
6016-519: The music of Catholic composers from southern Germany and Italy. In some respects, Pachelbel is similar to Haydn , who too served as a professional musician of the Stephansdom in his youth and as such was exposed to music of the leading composers of the time. Although he was a Lutheran, his works were influenced by Catholic music. In 1677, Pachelbel moved to Eisenach , where he found employment as court organist under Kapellmeister Daniel Eberlin (also
6110-529: The notable exception of two bicinia pieces. Pachelbel frequently used repercussion subjects of different kinds, with note repetition sometimes extended to span a whole measure (such as in the subject of a G minor fugue, see illustration). Some of the fugues employ textures more suited for the harpsichord , particularly those with broken chord figuration. The three ricercars Pachelbel composed, that are more akin to his fugues than to ricercars by Frescobaldi or Froberger, are perhaps more technically interesting. In
6204-465: The one composed the year before. Johann Christian Bach (1640–1682), Pachelbel's landlord in Erfurt, died in 1682. In June 1684, Pachelbel purchased the house (called Zur silbernen Tasche , now Junkersand 1) from Johann Christian's widow. In 1686, he was offered a position as organist of the St. Trinitatis church ( Trinitatiskirche ) in Sondershausen . Pachelbel initially accepted the invitation but, as
6298-440: The only known Pachelbel autographs). The Neumeister Collection and the so-called Weimar tablature of 1704 provide valuable information about Pachelbel's school, although they do not contain any pieces that can be confidently ascribed to him. Currently, there is no standard numbering system for Pachelbel's works. Several catalogues are used, by Antoine Bouchard (POP numbers, organ works only), Jean M. Perreault (P numbers, currently
6392-645: The organist, and earlier composers provided examples of Magnificat settings for organ, based on themes from the chant. Pachelbel's fugues, however, are almost all based on free themes and it is not yet understood exactly where they fit during the service. It is possible that they served to help singers establish pitch , or simply act as introductory pieces played before the beginning of the service. There are 95 pieces extant, covering all eight church modes : 23 in primi toni , 10 in secundi toni , 11 in tertii toni , 8 in quarti toni , 12 in quinti toni , 10 in sexti toni , 8 in septimi toni and 13 in octavi toni . Although
6486-403: The original sources, all three use white notation and are marked alla breve . The polythematic C minor ricercar is the most popular and frequently performed and recorded. It is built on two contrasting themes (a slow chromatic pattern and a lively simplistic motif) that appear in their normal and inverted forms and concludes with both themes appearing simultaneously. The F-sharp minor ricercar uses
6580-403: The other, stili novi or stilo novo , abbreviated st.n. and meaning "(of/in) new style". The Latin abbreviations may be capitalised differently by different users, e.g., St.n. or St.N. for stili novi . There are equivalents for these terms in other languages as well, such as the German a.St. (" alter Stil " for O.S.). Usually, the mapping of New Style dates onto Old Style dates with
6674-518: The otherwise more complex toccata-occasionally there is a whole section written in that manner; and a few toccatas (particularly one of the D minor and one of the G minor pieces) are composed using only this technique, with almost no variation. Partly due to their simplicity, the toccatas are very accessible works; however, the E minor and C minor ones which receive more attention than the rest are in fact slightly more complex. Pachelbel composed six fantasias . Three of them (the A minor, C major and one of
6768-712: The patronage of Duchess Magdalena Sibylla . That job was better, but, unfortunately, he lived there only two years before fleeing the French attacks of the War of the Grand Alliance . His next job was in Gotha as the town organist, a post he occupied for two years, starting on 8 November 1692; there he published his first, and only, liturgical music collection: Acht Chorale zum Praeambulieren in 1693 ( Erster Theil etlicher Choräle ). When former pupil Johann Christoph Bach married in October 1694,
6862-607: The pedal). Finally, neither the Nuremberg nor the southern German organ tradition endorsed extensive use of pedals seen in the works by composers of the northern German school. Only two volumes of Pachelbel's organ music were published and distributed during his lifetime: Musikalische Sterbens-Gedancken (Musical Thoughts on Death; Erfurt, 1683) – a set of chorale variations in memory of his deceased wife and child, and Acht Choräle (Nuremberg, 1693). Pachelbel employed white mensural notation when writing out numerous compositions (several chorales, all ricercars , some fantasias );
6956-673: The period of mourning court musicians were greatly curtailed. Pachelbel was left unemployed. He requested a testimonial from Eberlin, who wrote one for him, describing Pachelbel as a 'perfect and rare virtuoso' – einen perfekten und raren Virtuosen . With this document, Pachelbel left Eisenach on 18 May 1678. In June 1678, Pachelbel was employed as organist of the Predigerkirche in Erfurt , succeeding Johann Effler (c. 1640–1711; Effler later preceded Johann Sebastian Bach in Weimar ). The Bach family
7050-405: The preludes are much shorter than the toccatas: the A minor prelude (pictured below) only has 9 bars, the G major piece has 10. The only exception is one of the two D minor pieces, which is very similar to Pachelbel's late simplistic toccatas, and considerably longer than any other prelude. The toccata idiom is completely absent, however, in the short Prelude in A minor: A texture of similar density
7144-453: The rest follow the classical model ( Allemande , Courante , Sarabande , Gigue), sometimes updated with an extra movement (usually less developed), a more modern dance such as a gavotte or a ballet. All movements are in binary form , except for two arias . Pachelbel's chamber music is much less virtuosic than Biber 's Mystery Sonatas or Buxtehude 's Opus 1 and Opus 2 chamber sonatas. The famous Canon in D belongs to this genre, as it
7238-723: The same concept and is slightly more interesting musically: the key of F-sharp minor requires a more flexible tuning than the standard meantone temperament of the Baroque era and was therefore rarely used by contemporary composers. This means that Pachelbel may have used his own tuning system, of which little is known. Ricercare in C major is mostly in three voices and employing the same kind of writing with consecutive thirds as seen in Pachelbel's toccatas (see below). Pachelbel's use of repercussion subjects and extensive repeated note passages may be regarded as another characteristic feature of his organ pieces. Extreme examples of note repetition in
7332-404: The shape of the second phrase of the chorale in an imitative fashion (notice the distinctive pattern of two repeated notes). Pachelbel wrote numerous chorales using this model ("Auf meinen lieben Gott", "Ach wie elend ist unsre Zeit", "Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist", etc.), which soon became a standard form. A distinctive feature of almost all of Pachelbel's chorale preludes is his treatment of
7426-634: The start of a new year from 25 March ( Lady Day , the Feast of the Annunciation ) to 1 January, a change which Scotland had made in 1600. The second discarded the Julian calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar, skipping 11 days in the month of September to do so. To accommodate the two calendar changes, writers used dual dating to identify a given day by giving its date according to both styles of dating. For countries such as Russia where no start-of-year adjustment took place, O.S. and N.S. simply indicate
7520-531: The subject are found in magnificat fugues: quarti toni No. 4 has eight repeated notes, octavi toni No. 6 has twelve. Also, even a fugue with an ordinary subject can rely on strings of repeated notes, as it happens, for example, in magnificat fugue octavi toni No. 12: Pachelbel's apparent affinity for variation form is evident from his organ works that explore the genre: chaconnes , chorale variations and several sets of arias with variations. The six chaconnes, together with Buxtehude's ostinato organ works, represent
7614-497: The subject between the entries are observed in some of the fugues, and simple countersubjects occur several times. An interesting technique employed in many of the pieces is an occasional resort to style brisé for a few bars, both during episodes and in codas. The double fugues exhibit a typical three-section structure: fugue on subject 1, fugue on subject 2, and the counterpoint with simultaneous use of both subjects. Most of Pachelbel's free fugues are in three or four voices, with
7708-424: The subjects are extremely varied (see Example 1). Frequently some form of note repetition is used to emphasize a rhythmic (rather than melodic) contour. Many feature a dramatic leap (up to an octave), which may or may not be mirrored in one of the voices sometime during an episode – a characteristic Pachelbel technique, although it was also employed by earlier composers, albeit less pronounced. Minor alterations to
7802-794: The two D Dorian pieces) are sectional compositions in 3/2 time ; the sections are never connected thematically; the other D Dorian piece's structure is reminiscent of Pachelbel's magnificat fugues, with the main theme accompanied by two simple countersubjects . The E-flat major and G minor fantasias are variations on the Italian toccata di durezze e ligature genre. Both are gentle free-flowing pieces featuring intricate passages in both hands with many accidentals , close to similar pieces by Girolamo Frescobaldi or Giovanni de Macque . Almost all pieces designated as preludes resemble Pachelbel's toccatas closely, since they too feature virtuosic passagework in one or both hands over sustained notes. However, most of
7896-410: The unadorned chorale while the other provides constant fast-paced accompaniment written mostly in sixteenth notes . Pachelbel wrote more than one hundred fugues on free themes. These fall into two categories: some 30 free fugues and around 90 of the so-called Magnificat Fugues. His fugues are usually based on non-thematic material, and are shorter than the later model (of which those of J. S. Bach are
7990-553: Was admitted above the school's normal quota. Pachelbel was also permitted to study music outside the Gymnasium. His teacher was Kaspar ( Caspar ) Prentz, once a student of Johann Caspar Kerll . Since the latter was greatly influenced by Italian composers such as Giacomo Carissimi , it is likely through Prentz that Pachelbel started developing an interest in contemporary Italian music, and Catholic church music in general. Prentz left for Eichstätt in 1672. This period of Pachelbel's life
8084-465: Was also a prolific vocal music composer: around a hundred of such works survive, including some 40 large-scale works. Only a few chamber music pieces by Pachelbel exist, although he might have composed many more, particularly while serving as court musician in Eisenach and Stuttgart. Several principal sources exist for Pachelbel's music, although none of them as important as, for example, the Oldham manuscript
8178-474: Was altered at different times in different countries. From 1155 to 1752, the civil or legal year in England began on 25 March ( Lady Day ); so for example, the execution of Charles I was recorded at the time in Parliament as happening on 30 January 164 8 (Old Style). In newer English-language texts, this date is usually shown as "30 January 164 9 " (New Style). The corresponding date in the Gregorian calendar
8272-665: Was born in 1653 in Nuremberg into a middle-class family, son of Johann (Hans) Pachelbel (born 1613 in Wunsiedel , Germany), a wine dealer, and his second wife Anna (Anne) Maria Mair. The exact date of Johann's birth is unknown, but he was baptized on 1 September. Among his many siblings was an older brother, Johann Matthäus (1644–1710), who served as Kantor in Feuchtwangen , near Nuremberg. During his early youth, Pachelbel received musical training from Heinrich Schwemmer , who later became
8366-587: Was celebrated as the New Year festival from as early as the 13th century, despite the recorded (civil) year not incrementing until 25 March, but the "year starting 25th March was called the Civil or Legal Year, although the phrase Old Style was more commonly used". To reduce misunderstandings about the date, it was normal even in semi-official documents such as parish registers to place a statutory new-year heading after 24 March (for example "1661") and another heading from
8460-545: Was implemented in Russia on 14 February 1918 by dropping the Julian dates of 1–13 February 1918 , pursuant to a Sovnarkom decree signed 24 January 1918 (Julian) by Vladimir Lenin . The decree required that the Julian date was to be written in parentheses after the Gregorian date, until 1 July 1918. It is common in English-language publications to use the familiar Old Style or New Style terms to discuss events and personalities in other countries, especially with reference to
8554-853: Was influenced by southern German composers, such as Johann Jakob Froberger and Johann Caspar Kerll , Italians such as Girolamo Frescobaldi and Alessandro Poglietti , French composers, and the composers of the Nuremberg tradition. He preferred a lucid, uncomplicated contrapuntal style that emphasized melodic and harmonic clarity. His music is less virtuosic and less adventurous harmonically than that of Dieterich Buxtehude , although, like Buxtehude, Pachelbel experimented with different ensembles and instrumental combinations in his chamber music and, most importantly, his vocal music , much of which features exceptionally rich instrumentation. Pachelbel explored many variation forms and associated techniques, which manifest themselves in various diverse pieces, from sacred concertos to harpsichord suites. Johann Pachelbel
8648-488: Was originally scored for 3 violins and a basso continuo , and paired with a gigue in the same key. The canon shares an important quality with the chaconne and passacaglia : it consists of a ground bass over which the violins play a three-voice canon based on a simple theme, the violins' parts form 28 variations of the melody. The gigue which originally accompanied the canon is a simple piece that uses strict fugal writing. Musicalische Ergötzung ("Musical Delight")
8742-452: Was to bury the dead on the third or fourth post-mortem day; so, either 6 or 7 March 1706 is a likelier death date. He is buried in the St. Rochus Cemetery , a Protestant cemetery. During his lifetime, Pachelbel was best known as an organ composer. He wrote more than two hundred pieces for the instrument, both liturgical and secular, and explored most of the genres that existed at the time. Pachelbel
8836-503: Was very well known in Erfurt (where virtually all organists would later be called "Bachs"), so Pachelbel's friendship with them continued here. Pachelbel became godfather to Johann Ambrosius' daughter, Johanna Juditha, taught Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), Johann Sebastian's eldest brother, and lived in Johann Christian Bach's (1640–1682) house. Pachelbel remained in Erfurt for 12 years and established his reputation as one of
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