Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706)

Johann Pachelbel was born in Nuremberg in 1653. After studying in his home town and in Regensburg, he worked in Vienna as deputy organist at St Stephen’s Cathedral, then at the court in Eisenach, where he became close to the Bach family.

From 1678 to 1690 he was organist of the Predigerkirche in Erfurt. There he taught Johann Christoph Bach, Johann Sebastian’s elder brother, who in turn passed this teaching on to his younger brother. After posts in Stuttgart and Gotha, he returned to Nuremberg in 1695 as organist of St Sebaldus, where he remained until his death in 1706.

Most of his output is for organ: chorale preludes, Magnificat fugues, toccatas and chaconnes. In 1699 he published the Hexachordum Apollinis, six arias with variations for keyboard. He also wrote sacred vocal music and chamber music.

The famous Canon, written for three violins and basso continuo and originally paired with a gigue, rests on an eight-note bass repeated over and over, above which the violins follow one another in canon. Rediscovered in the twentieth century, it has become one of the most performed pieces in the world, especially at weddings.

For pianists, Pachelbel is a good introduction to the ground bass and to variation: seeing how the same chord sequence can carry ever richer melodies.