Why does Pachelbel's Canon in D have such an entrancing effect on some people?
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mammal (
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June 12th, 2009
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I don’t know about the Asian ear – it’s a pretty universally popular piece.
Hard to explain. It was one of the first pieces to have that sound that it does; it was unique for its time. The changing from major to minor that it does gives it a sentimental sound, which I usually describe as one with the ability to conjure up emotions from nowhere, nostalgia, and other memories. It’s also slow, calm, and soothing. There also have been many pieces based on that bass-line that it uses.
The thing I find most interesting and cool is that it’s from 1680.
It really resonates with me in a freakish way, too, and I’m not Asian. I’ve gone for years with it running through my head (seriously). Played just right, it still dissolves me. Just those first 8 continuo notes can nail me to the floor.
As to why, for me it has something to do with the way all of that soaring variation blossoms out of, but remains rooted in, that stately bass.
Probably because it’s a canon, which is sort of addictive by nature. The same reason that when somebody starts singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” you can’t get it out of your head. It’s the same theme played over, and over, and over with a melody line plugged in at various spots. I think for people who aren’t classically trained musicians, maybe it resonates because you pick up the theme very early in the piece and no matter what new and different melody is plugged in on top of that theme, you feel like you know it. For the Canon in D in particular, the chord progression just happens to be a very technically good one. One that is pleasing to the ears. I guess Pachelbel knew what he was doing. Fugues are very similar and very difficult to play on the piano anyway. You have to keep up the integrity of the major theme, but then emphasize the melodic “voice”. I played a Bach Prelude and Fugue in 4 voices for juries one year in school. I actually loved playing the technically challenging stuff.
Certainly being addicted to Masterpiece Theater is part of my liking for it.
Ummm . . . because their classical music listening experience is somewhat limited?
Don’t mean to be critical, or to minimize @Harp‘s or @DominicX‘s experiences, but I can think of quite a few “canons” (the Pachelbel is actually a passacaglia) that are much more well composed. Bach’s “Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor,” and Fauré‘s “Pavane,” (in f# minor = f# minor!!!) for example, just to name two.
@PapaLeo
Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I’ve probably heard more classical music than you have…I wouldn’t be willing to bet money on it, though…
Believe me, when I hear someone say “Beethoven’s 9th” is the greatest classical piece ever or “Only Time” is the greatest Enya song, I tend to go “puh-lease”. But that doesn’t diminish the power of those pieces.
@Darwin Don’t mean to be a know-it-all, but the theme song to “Masterpiece Theater” is Mouret’s “Sinfonies de Fanfares: Rondeau.”
@DominicX Don’t want to get in a pissing contest with you, but I’d be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts. After all, this is something that is difficult to prove.
@PapaLeo – That’s what I get for writing off the cuff. No offense taken.
@Darwin I bow to your gracious concession.
@PapaLeo
Well, let’s just say I was familiar with the two pieces you named as alternative canons/passcaglias (Pachelbel himself called his own piece “Kanon” for the record and it is a canon. It is both a canon and a passacaglia. The two are not mutually exclusive)... :P
@DominicX Well, um, of course. Pachelbel was German and “Kanon” is German for “canon.”
Okay, here goes: in my previous life I was a professional musician. I’ve played in a number of orchestras and many other ensembles throughout the US and Europe. Every piece named in this thread I’ve played in one or another forum, mostly as first chair flute.
Not bragging, just stating my bona fides.
@PapaLeo
You’re using “previous life” as a metaphor right? Because I don’t buy into that reincarnation stuff…
And I’m not arguing, it just sounded like you said Pachelbel’s Canon isn’t a canon, when it is in fact a canon. It fits the definition of a canon.
@applesaucemanny
I love that video. Even though I like Pachelbel’s Canon. It’s hilarious and so true. I love it when he mentions Avril Lavigne’s song…lol
I like watching dick measuring contests.~
I’m not sure, but ever the remixes are pretty awesome.
@DominicX Yeah, sorry, I’m not messing with you. Metaphor. “Previous life” as a professional musician is 1976 – 1988. I still play, but just for enjoyment; not for putting food on the table.
@PapaLeo I know that it lacks depth and sophistication, but that doesn’t really have much to do with how music gets its hooks into you, does it?
I think there’s a certain price we pay for expertise. I have the same relationship to chocolate that you have to music. Having worked with it professionally for decades, I became attuned to nuances that completely escape most people. I have a conceptual framework now that supercedes, to a large extent, my more elemental emotional response to chocolate. Where I used to be able to pop a piece of Dove chocolate into my mouth and just enjoy it for what it is, I now bury that enjoyment under a pile of critical judgment and comparison.
In a way, I may be better off for my chocolate expertise, in that it has opened up unsuspected dimensions of experience in this domain. But, much of that added appreciation is intellectual, not emotional. I can’t really say that I get more of a charge now from tasting my Valrhona than I used to from my Dove.
I recognize that there’s a simple beauty in lack of discrimination as well. I suppose the ideal would be to be able to turn off one’s powers of discrimination at will, and occasionally see, hear or taste the world as a child does.
@Harp I chewed on your answer for days, I must say. My philosophy is that I appreciate anything that’s done well. Even though I have insight and appreciation for music similar to yours for chocolate, I’m also able to appreciate many varieties of the are, as long as they’re sincere and performed well.
Your commetn about the simple beauty in lack of discrimination is contained in two words for me: ironic enjoyment. I love listening to country and bluegrass not per se for their musical value (though the best bluegrass players could challenge the best jazz musicians any day on technique!), but for what they represent. Yee hah!!!
From Wikipedia: In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. It is a crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.
The tempo of Pachelbel’s Canon in D matches our heart beat when we are relaxed.
@essieness a scholarly comment, respect
this particular rendition is lovingly produced
i feel
@PapaLeo nice work, faure’s pavane and requiem have appeal
are we too jaded by pieces such as these in the advent of reproductive media?
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