In the last few years I have heard, interspersed with the usual Christmas melodies, a piece of music that was essentially lost for over a quarter of a millennium.
About 50 years ago a version gained popularity, played at a strangely slow tempo, heavily orchestrated, and with a strong emphasis on the plucked instrument called the theorbo.
Versions like this were frequently used for the odd combination of background music, weddings, or funerals, with some lasting two and three hours — quite an accomplishment (not in a good way) for a piece that is originally under five minutes. I’m glad to hear it find a home, played in something like the way it was originally composed, in the music of Christmas.
The piece is often thought of as “Classical music,” but it’s not. Written by the German composer Johann Pachelbel, who lived from 1653 to 1706, it’s actually from the earlier Baroque era. (The Classical period can be thought of as starting with Mozart. To put this in perspective, Mozart was born in 1756, and the American revolution started in 1776.)
Technically the piece is called “Canon and Gigue in D-major”, but the title is usually shortened to “Canon in D-major” or simply “Pachelbel’s Canon.”
(Actually, the title, when spoken, is often shortened to Pachabel’s Canon, leaving out the middle L. The composer’s name is properly pronounced a bit like “pickle-bell”… Pachel-bell.)
I really like this version of the piece. It’s played from the earliest known manuscript of the piece, on the less brassy and less strident sounding instruments common at the time in which the song was written. The instruments are also played in the style common at the time.
This version includes familiar instruments — three violins, and a cello — along with the much-less-familiar, all-wood, baroque organ and an instrument almost unknown today, the theorbo, a sort of oversize lute with an odd neck extension and extra bass strings.
Enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas!
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