Year 8, Day 193

Hey guys. Today's song is Canon in D performed by Tritonia Music.

I bet that everyone knows this song, but did not know what it was called or where it comes from. So this is a Baroque period composition by German composer Johann Pachelbel and is easily his most famous piece (which considering he wrote over 500 pieces during his life is really saying something), but it is also somewhat of a classical mystery. No one actually knows when it was written, although it's theorized to be from around 1680. This song is uncomplicated in its construction, with a repeating bass line and the violins doing their line in a round, but the execution of it is also what make it so good. And the bass line was used in works by other incredibly famous composers afterwards including Mozart, Handel, and Hadyn. Pachelbel was a very famous composer while he was alive, and had a bunch of pupils, one who would later go on to teach Bach. Pachelbel was also known for his religious works (though he did many secular works as well) and it's theorized that his tie to religion is why his composition has become so popular in relation to marriage and the church. But really, Canon In D became popular in the 1970's after a French conductor named Jean-François Paillard made a recording. It was then further popularized through a film called Ordinary People and from there somehow trickled in to processions until it became the end all be all piece to be used as the wedding march. Some of this could be due to the repetitive nature of the piece, so it can go on and on as long as it needs to without the jarring start and end you get from other pieces. In any case, it may be one of the most well known classical songs today and is a staple piece for many violinists to know. This is performed by violinist Sophie Moser and pianist Katja Hihn, and filmed by Jannik Tondorf, and they do a great job so hopefully you like it. 

Peace.