Symphony Atlas

Canon in D major

17065 min

This guide follows Pachelbel’s Canon in D major (1706) in one part.

Recording: Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE, Adrian Leaper (2008)

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Follow all 13 sections as they play

0:08–5:08

Follow the bass line that never stops repeating, while the three violins come in one after another within the first ( I). From II onward the music moves to a new violin about every four , up to XII, and then comes the last, XIII. Each dresses the same chord pattern in a new way, so the notes keep changing speed and shape while the harmony stays still.

  1. I
  2. II

Section boundaries in music are not always sharp; a transition may be felt over a pause or a held chord.

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In listening paths

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Path 01

Start here

Ten well-known works to learn the map on, each open in full to everyone.

Pachelbel → Bach → Vivaldi → Mozart → Beethoven → Schubert → Chopin → Dvořák → Debussy

10 works · 1 h 54 min

In the catalog

Johann PachelbelOrchestral worksBaroque periodD major

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