Monday, October 21, 2013

Canon in D Major, Piano and Violin Duet

Every few months, my sister and I learn a few piano and violin duets.  Canon in D major by Johan Pachelbell, happens to be one of my favorite duets.  It’s hard to imagine a time when this piece wasn't a wedding favorite as it is commonly.  What is really interesting about this piece is that it is not a happy, high energy piece, nor is very melancholy, but it gives the feeling that it is being performed for a very special occasion. 

Not much is known about Canon in D major even though it is Pachelbel’s most famous piece. We don’t even know the exact date it was composed, although historians think it was composed around 1680.  Some people believe that the music was written for Bach’s brother, Johann Christoph’s wedding, on October 23, 1694.  Parts of the bass piece was used in Handel’s, Haydn’s, and Mozart’s compositions.   

Pachelbell was born sometime in August 1653 in Nuremberg, Germany and died around in early March 1706.  He wrote over 500 classical music pieces during his lifetime and composed in the baroque period. He was an organist in his hometown of Nuremburg, and even taught the man who became Bach’s teacher. 

This piece has a lot of emotion to it and also a lot of challenging parts to it.  When playing a duet, both players have to listen to each other in order to play the piece well.  Sarah and I always have trouble with that as we both want to be in charge, however for this piece, the piano set the beat. I am glad that in the end we succeeded in working together well. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.






Have you ever heard this piece at a wedding? 

Which piece did you choose for your wedding?

9 comments:

  1. Dear Miriam and Sarah,

    Wow! What a duet that was! Mr. Yollis and I listened to it as our dinner music tonight! Thank you!

    You are so right, this is a favorite for weddings. I've been to several ones where this has been played. It is very beautiful, so I can see why.

    When I was little, my sister and I used to play duets on the piano. One was Hungarian Dance, and it was so much fun to play. One part had us both moving up the piano in unison. What a thrill!

    Do you and Sarah ever play piano duets?

    Thanks for a great concert!

    Your proud former teacher,
    Mrs. Y♥llis

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Mrs Yollis,

    Thank you for your wonderful comment. I am very glad you enjoyed the piece. Sarah and I did try to play a piano duet one time but we constantly argued and we gave up. Also, when we play piano duets, only one person has the melody and the other person has a very boring part. For some reason, I seemed to always get the boring part. We try to pick piano and violin duets where we both have melodies.

    I hope you visit again soon!

    Your former student,
    ♥Miriam♥

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Miriam and Sarah,

    My name is Kynyetta Barren and I'm at student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile Al. I really love the duet! This is a very beautiful wedding song. I have never been to a wedding that has played that song. You and Sarah did a wonderful job!! I was getting emotional listening to you and Sarah. Also, the song is comfort and relaxation in the great outdoors. It makes me feel like I should have played this song at my wedding. Overall, GREAT JOB!!!

    How long have you and Sarah been playing together? How often do you two practice?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your wonderful comment. I agree, this is a gorgeous wedding song. The key to playing together is to master playing your own part first so once we both had managed to play the piece on our own we put it together. Sarah and I both practice 2-3 hours every day.

      From,
      Miriam

      Delete
  4. Hi Miriam,

    That's such a pretty piece. I think you both played it really well! I like your blog and the book background it has. You can visit my blog at www.celestialcorner111613.edublogs.org

    ~Mollie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Mollie,
      Thank you for your wonderful comment. I will definitely visit your blog. I hope you visit mine soon.

      From,
      Miriam

      Delete
  5. Hello Miriam!

    My name is Shanda, and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. Throughout the course of this semester we were assigned to student blogs to post comments on. That is how I found your blog post! You and your sister are both incredibly talented! I have always heard the song you guys performed at weddings that happen in movies, but never in real life. It is a beautiful piece. I really enjoyed your post, it was very informative. You are very skilled for such a young age! Thanks for sharing your video so we could listen to you play!
    Keep up the hard work, it is definitely paying off!!

    Thanks,
    Shanda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your wonderful comment. I am really glad that you enjoyed the song. My sister Sarah has a blog as well called Come Somersault With Sarah http://comesomersaultwithsarah.blogspot.com/, where she has many recordings of different things she's played. I hope you visit my blog and Sarah's again soon!

      From,
      Miriam

      Delete
  6. Hello, my name is Jakob I am 10 years old and I have been playing the piano for several years now. I have always wanted to learn that song. You 2 did a great job! That looked hard to play a song that long and hard.
    Jakob
    slaymay.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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