Who is Johann Pachelbel?
Where was he from? |
Johann Pachelbel was born in 1653 in Nuremberg Germany. This is in Bavaria (the south of Germany) which is a very religious region, his location influenced the type of music that he composed, as almost all of it was meant to be played in church.
-“Pachelbel's geographical situation, midway between Vienna and Lubeck, was mirrored in his musical situation, equally distant from the harmonic subtleties of Richter as from the passionate vehemence of Buxtehude. Through his music Pachelbel appears not as an eloquent orator but as a specialist in intimate confidences. Often drawn towards a soft and meditative style, Pachelbel was apparently satisfied with the limited resources provided by his small instruments and sought to cultivate neither the dramatic contrasts of the stylus phantasticus, the enticements of chromaticism nor excessive ornamentation ("Whent")”.- |
Where did he study music? |
As a child, Pachelbel attended gymnasium (the highest level of German public school) and studied music. At the age of 15 he enrolled in the University at Altdorf, but since he came from a poor family, he was forced to leave after running out of money. He then went to Regensburg, where from 1670 to 1672, he was tutored in music by Kaspar Prentz, who introduced him to contemporary Italian composition ("Pachelbel").
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What type of music did he create? What was his most famous piece? |
He composed mostly for keyboard instruments (Organ and Harpsichord), however he also wrote for choral ensembles as well as chamber music (music for a small group of instruments). Almost all of his pieces were written for the Church.
He was very popular while he was alive, but today, he is only really known for one piece of music - the Canon in D. This piece is extremely popular, most people who don't know much Classical music will know this piece. Unfortunately much of his music has been lost over the years ("Johann"). |
How did he influence the future of music? |
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