Kanon und Gigue D-Dur

The Nuremberg Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) probably wrote his "Canon and Gigue" for 3 Violins & Continuo for the wedding of Johann Christoph Bach, a brother of Johann Sebastian Bach. The canon is built on a bass ostinato and is followed by the jaunty gigue. The huge success of the canon has seen it arranged countless times in various styles and genres.

This slightly shorter new arrangement for symphony orchestra preserves the atmosphere and charm of the original. The piece shows great variety through its range of instrumental colours, which at the same time help to build up the tension. To make it more interesting, more life has been put into what is basically a monotonic bass part. For the sake of readability, the note values have been doubled.

In order that it can be played by many ensembles, there is quite a degree of flexibility as regards the instruments which can be employed, e.g. Woodwind II can be played by both the flute and the oboe. The piece sounds well-rounded even when played just by strings; additional instruments will enrich the sound.

The arrangement is easy to moderately difficult to perform. The canon takes approx. 4 – 6 minutes to play while the gigue takes approx. 2 minutes, depending on the interpretation.