Description
This keyboard work by Pachelbel is based on the chorale melody O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß, a tune later also set by J.S. Bach in his organ works and in the closing chorus of the St Matthew Passion. Running over five minutes with more than nineteen hundred notes, the piece calls for advanced technique to sustain the solemn chorale melody while navigating its ornamented inner voices.
Chorale settings by Bach, weaving intricate counterpoint around hymn melodies into solemn, prayerful music.
About the Composer
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) was a German Baroque composer and organist. While best known today for his 'Canon,' he was also a significant composer of chorale preludes and fugues for keyboard, influencing the Bach family of musicians. This site includes four of his works, including a fugue on the Magnificat.
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