The Golden Chord Progression Composed by the Ultimate One-Hit Wonder of the Classical World♪
Photographed by Koji Ueda
Pachelbel was a leading German organ virtuoso in the late 17th-century Baroque era and a figure who contributed significantly to the development of German Baroque music.
The official title of his famous masterpiece, "Pachelbel's Canon," is actually "Canon and Gigue in D Major for 3 Violins and Basso Continuo."
Pachelbel: Pachelbel's Canon
Pachelbel: Pachelbel's Canon (Arranged for choir and guitar by B. Chilcott, "Miracle of the Rose")
There is a passage that explains Pachelbel's Canon as follows.
"The bass part quietly plays the bass theme, which is then repeated 28 times.
Layered on top of this, three violins imitate and chase each other's melodies one after another, unfolding a canon (a round).
While constructed upon mathematical techniques reminiscent of architecture, its appeal is highly romantic, making it one of the most popular Baroque masterpieces." (Source: Quoted from "100 Baroque Masterpieces and Recordings" by Tatsuo Minagawa, p. 140)
As the explanation suggests, it is the beauty of the violins overlapping as they chase each other's melodies—a round, if you will.
This is the defining characteristic and charm of Pachelbel's Canon.
Furthermore, despite its steady and ordinary flow, it has the quality of reminding one of a single, cute, nameless flower blooming in a field.
I feel that this piece is similar to the sensation of finding a small joy in the midst of a steady, ordinary, and seemingly dull daily life.
A day of Indian summer that occasionally visits during the harsh cold of winter.
The sound of a wind chime heard while wiping sweat from one's brow with a handkerchief during the scorching heat of summer.
I believe it is important to have moments where you can feel happiness in simple things, such as just being able to eat something delicious or sleeping comfortably at night.
And classical music that accompanies those moments.
Perhaps Pachelbel's Canon is one of those pieces (^^♪
Pachelbel: Canon and Gigue in D Major, P. 37: I. Canon
Canon in D (Pachelbel's Canon) - Cello & Piano [BEST WEDDING VERSION]
Now, this piece, which extracts the canon heard in the first half of the original work, is a popular song that has been arranged for various instruments and is widely loved.
The eight notes repeated throughout the piece are commonly known as "Pachelbel's Canon," and for example, they are used in:
175R "Sora ni Utaeba"
AKB48 "Koisuru Fortune Cookie"
B’z "ALONE"
B’z "Ai no Bakudan"
Billy Joel "Piano Man"
BOØWY "Wagamama Juliet"
BORO "Osaka de Umareta Onna"
FIELD OF VIEW "DAN DAN Kokoro Hikareteku"
GLAY "HOWEVER"
Kalafina "Kimi no Gin no Niwa"
KAN "Ai wa Katsu"
King Gnu "BOY"
LINDBERG "Ima Sugu Kiss Me"
MONGOL800 "Chiisana Koi no Uta"
Mr.Children "Owarinaki Tabi"
Mr.Children "Ashioto ~Be Strong"
Official Hige Dandism "Pretender"
Perfume "Mirai no Museum"
SEKAI NO OWARI "Dragon Night"
Superfly "Ai wo Komete Hanataba wo"
X JAPAN "Endless Rain"
YOASOBI "Mou Sukoshi Dake"
ZARD "Makenaide"
Aimyon "Marigold"
Spitz "Cherry"
Road of Major "Taisetsu na Mono"
Azumi Inoue "Tonari no Totoro"
Yosui Inoue "Shounen Jidai"
Yo Hitoto "Hanamizuki"
Mayo Okamoto "TOMORROW"
Ryuichi Kawamura "Love is..."
Gakuen Seikatsu-bu "Friend Shitai"
Tatsuro Yamashita "Christmas Eve"
Tatsuro Yamashita "Christmas Eve feat. KEIJU/tofubeats/m-flo/2NE1/Dragon Ash/ORANGE RANGE"
Seiko Matsuda "Jikan Ryoko"
Yumi Matsutoya "Hikoukigumo"
Naotaro Moriyama "Sakura (Dokushou)"
Masaki Suda - "Niji"
Gen Hoshino - "Oriai"
Akai Tori - "Tsubasa o Kudasai"
Ai Otsuka - "Sakuranbo"
Miyuki Nakajima - "Ito"
Hideaki Tokunaga - "Kowarekake no Radio"
Masaharu Fukuyama - "Sakurazaka"
Youmi Kimura - "Itsumo Nando Demo"
Koji Wada - "Butter-Fly"
These are just some of the many pieces of music that utilize this golden chord progression.
However, this is the only work by Pachelbel that is generally known today.
How about a tanka poem for this occasion? (^^)
"Canon wells up here and there in the city, falling on the person sweeping fallen leaves." (From Kyoko Inaba's "Hana Aru Yau ni")
"Hana Aru Yau ni - Kyoko Inaba Tanka Collection" (Kadokawa Tanka Series) by Kyoko Inaba
"Competing with the speed of falling flowers, I climbed the scale, the canon of my girlhood." (From Chikako Yonekawa's "Natsuzora no Kai")
"Natsuzora no Kai" by Chikako Yonekawa
Impatience.
Feeling down.
Irritation.
Such emotions are like uninvited guests that visit almost every day (^^;
However, in the process of growing, there are times when it is important to accept such feelings while also moving things forward quickly.
Also, there is no point if you end up feeling crushed just because you are impatient for growth.
Growing serves happiness, but it is not happiness itself.
A companion for when you need to regain your own natural pace.
You can enjoy so much from just a single piece of music.
That is the true pleasure of classical music, isn't it? (^^♪