I first heard of this timeless classic from a poem by John Ashbery, and promptly bought an album of Pachelbel's music. (It was in the late 1970s, well before the advent of iTunes and YouTube.) This performance by Voices of Music is easily my favorite. Their arrangement was meticulous, and strove to be as authentic to 17th century Baroque music as possible:
Performed on original instruments by San Francisco Early Music Ensemble Voices of Music. Featuring Katherine Kyme, Carla Moore & Cynthia Freivogel, baroque violin; Tanya Tomkins, baroque cello, Hanneke van Proosdij, baroque organ; David Tayler, theorbo.
About the performance: the canon is played using not only the instruments but also the bowing techniques from the time of Pachelbel. As you can see from the video, especially if you look at the high definition version, the string instruments are not only baroque, but they are in baroque setup: this means that the strings, fingerboard, bridge and other parts of the violin appear just as they did in Pachelbel's time. No metal hardware such as chinrests, clamps or fine tuners are used on the violins, allowing the violins to vibrate freely. A good example of baroque bowing can be seen in the extended passage of repeated notes: the musicians play these notes on one bow - the shorter & lighter baroque bow - to created a gliding effect. The players also hold the bow very differently which affects the balance and touch. Both the style and the amount of vibrato are based on baroque treatises which describe the methods for playing, bowing & articulation in the late 17th century. The narrow, shimmering vibrato blends with the baroque organ. The organ used is made entirely of wood, based on German baroque instruments, and the pipes are voiced to provide a smooth accompaniment to the strings, instead of a more soloistic sound. The large bass lute, or theorbo, provides a complement to the organ not only in the texture of the chords but also the long strings which occasionally sound the bass notes an octave lower. The continuo players play supporting chords and voices to the canon, carefully avoiding parallels and doublings of the parts.
Another feature of the video is the subtle differences in not only the sound and color of the instruments, but also the different techniques of the players. All three are playing baroque violins with baroque bows, yet each person has her own distinct sound and bowing style—each bow has a different shape and balance. If you look at paintings of 17th century players you will see that they are all different, because that individuality of sound and technique was highly valued. This allows the players and the listeners to hear and appreciate the "Voices of Music."
Many comments refer to the pitch. D Major is a key, not a pitch; this piece is in D Major at A=415.3 Hz. We chose a baroque pitch and temperament from the time of Pachelbel.
This sister and brother performance has no where near the maturity, polish and richness as that of Voices in Music. But theirs is genuine and personal, and is a favorite of mine.
The Piano Guys perform with skill, passion and humor, plus terrific music videography. Here, they poke fun at staid renditions at weddings, and turn sleepy into jazzy canon, instead.
These videos have garnered 4.9, 4.0 and 5.5 million views, respectively, and are evidently the favorites of scores of YouTubers, too.
An a capella arrangement of the popular piece, by Kevin McSheffrey. This has been one of the biggest challenges for us as a quartet, it's a very difficult arrangement and we decided against recording it last year. However, we didn't want to be "defeated" by any arrangement, so we pulled it together with a couple rehearsals this summer for you!
One, purely a capella. Another, entirely of wind, tenor and bass recorders. Yet another, simply Flamenco guitar, entirely solo. I love musicians who work at being unique and aren't cowed by difficulty pieces.
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