Page 51 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

Finally, for a similar, but slightly more complex, piece from the classical rep- ertoire, we turn to the famous Pachelbel Canon. (See also “Pachelbel and His Canon” in Chapter 5, where the ostinato bass can be seen.) Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), who lived in Germany and was a mentor to musicians in the Bach family, composed this piece for four musical lines. The top three, here played by violins, are performed as a canon (a “round” in which one voice starts out and the others duplicate it exactly, as in “Three Blind Mice”). Below the three-part canon is a harmonic ostinato, this one consisting of eight chords. So popular has Pachelbel’s harmony become that it has been “borrowed” by The Beatles (“Let It Be”), U2 (“With or Without You”), and Celine Dion (chorus of “To Love You More”)—as well as parodied endlessly.
practice . . .
your understanding of this chapter’s concepts by reviewing the elements of music and working once more with the chapter’s Active Listening Guides online.
do . . .
online multiple-choice and critical thinking quizzes that your instructor may assign for a grade.
WATCH . . . a rant by comedian Rob Paravonian about the excessive popularity of Pachelbel’s famous eight-bar harmony, in YouTube online.
DO . . . Listening Exercise 2.4, Hearing the Bass Line and Harmony, online.
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