Canon in D and Gigue (string quartet)

Title: Canon in D and Gigue

Composer: Johann Pachelbel

Instrumentation: Violin 1; Violin 2; Viola; Cello

Printout: 11 pages

Note: Most adaptations of the Pachelbel Canon either have the third violin part in alto clef (which Pachelbel would never have done and which also results in significant changes of timbre in the high passages), or they take the high passages an octave lower for the viola (which destroys the canonic effect). Others attempt unsucessfully to imitate the gratuitous viola pizzicati from the 1970 Musical Heritage Society recording. This arrangement achieves better results by shifting the high passages from the viola to one of the violins, thus keeping the viola in a register that is more consistent with the intended timbre, and also preserving the canonic sound.

Many people do not realize that the canon was not written as a stand-alone composition, but was intended by the composer to be followed by a lively gigue for three violins and continuo. The gigue, transcribed for two violins, viola, and cello, is included here.

Gigue: