Pachelbel's Canon
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Pachelbel's Canon, also known as Canon in D major, or more formally Canon and Gigue in D major for three Violins and Basso Continuo (Kanon und Gigue in D-Dur für drei Violinen und Basso Continuo), is one of the most famous pieces 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, although neither this composition nor the original version of the Canon as Pachelbel wrote it are regularly performed or recorded today.
The piece is particularly well known for its chord progression, and is played at weddings and included on classical music compilation CDs, along with other famous Baroque pieces such as Air on the G String by J. S. Bach (BWV 1068). It became very popular in the late 1970s through a famous recording by the Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra. A non-original viola pizzicato part is also commonly added (in a string orchestra or quartet setting) when a harpsichord or organ player is not used to improvise harmonies over the bass line.
