At 4:18 PM -0500 1/28/11, David W. Fenton wrote:
As I say elsewhere in the post, it seems that it's not "Pachelbel's Canon" that has been used as the basis for the variations/arrangements, but "Pachelbel's Chaconne," i.e., the chord progression (though often, as I say, along with some of the melodic lines from the canon).
Well, as it happens I was aware of and played the Kanon long before whatever movie that was you cited, and back in the late '80s discovered that "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" could be layered over it quite nicely (by using continuous half-cadences in the voice parts). And I've arranged it that way, WITH the original counterpoint exactly as written. (Except that I made the 3rd violin part into a real viola part since that worked a lot better for weddings!)
It's been speculated--although I can't remember where I read it--that since Pachelbel knew and worked with all the hot musicians in Vienna, we might be completely misinterpreting the Kanon. It might have been intended for a much faster tempo, with the violin canon a really challenging tour de force to show off real virtuosos. I've never tried it that way, and don't know whether it would work or not. It would at least make cello players happier!
But cellists who don't like playing a ground bass have been playing too much Dvorák and Borodin! The 17th century was the century of the creative use of ground bass, with Monteverdi, Corelli, and Purcell--and everybody else!-- writing wonderful duets, solos, and trio sonatas over one.
John -- John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music Virginia Tech Department of Music College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[email protected]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html "We never play anything the same way once." Shelly Manne's definition of jazz musicians. _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
