A page from the so-called Tenbury Manuscripts, currently housed at the Bodleian Library. Possibly created by Pachelbel himself, they contain some of his finest late vocal works. They are also among the very few manuscripts ever identified as possible autographs by the composer.
Approximately 530 compositions have been attributed to Johann Pachelbel. As of 2009[update], no standard numbering system exists for Pachelbel's work. This article presents a thematically organized list and provides catalogue numbers from three different catalogues:
For organ works, POP catalogue numbers are provided, from catalogue by Antoine Bouchard for his 1998–2001 recording of Pachelbel's organ oeuvre (this catalogue only covers organ works). Perreault numbers are used as the basis of the list, making individual sections organized alphabetically (i.e. the chorales) and/or by tonality. Because the Welter catalogue does not provide incipits, many of the works with identical titles will share a single PC number (which is in such cases denoted by a question mark).
The following symbols are used:
* denotes that the ascription of the piece is questioned
! denotes that the composition is, apparently, lost
Similarly to catalogues of works by most early music composers, Pachelbel's list of works remains perpetually incomplete as new works are regularly found.
Suite in G major (no. 1), vn, 2va, vle (Perrault writes: The lack of figuration for the lower part means that it was not a b.c., so that this work may well count as the first true string quartet, at least within the Germanophone domain.)
451
338
355a?
Suite in G major (no. 2), 2vn, 2va, b.c.
453
-
-
Suite [tonality unspecified], vn, 2va, k.i., (?)b.c.
Vocal music
Arias
P
T
PC
Composition
32
431
360
Auf, werte Gäst, for soprano or tenor, 2vn, b.c. (1 strophe)
33
432
361
Augen, streuet Perlentränen, for alto, tenor, 4va, "va pro basso" (4 strophes)
57*
-
-
Christ ist erstanden, for soprano, vn, b.c. (possibly by Achilles)
74
433
367
Das angenehmste Wetter, for tenor, 2vn
75
434
368
Das Gewitter for tenor, 2vn, b.c. (6 strophes)
76
435
369
Das Jahr fängt an, for alto, 2vn, 2va, b.c. (4 strophes)
86
436
363
Der Widder Abrahams, for alto, tenor, 2vn, b.c. (5 strophes)
100
437
370
Die freuderfüllten Abendstunden, for soprano, 2vn, 2va, b.c.
113
438
371
Es muss die Sinne ja erfreuen, for tenor, 2vn, b.c. (7 strophes)
165
439
372
Geliebtes Vaterherz, for bass, 2vn, 2va, b.c./vle
180
440
374
Guter Walter unsers Rat, for tenor, 2vn, 2va, b.c.
Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, (?)motet, "a 9", SATB, SATB, b.c.
496!
Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, (?)sacred concerto, "a 10. 4 Viol. SATB"
Miscellany
P
Composition
Description
23
[deleted]
53!–54!
"Zwei Chörichte Sonaten, in specie dessen Serenata"
Sonatas for choir and ensemble ("serenades"?). They were mentioned by Johann Heinrich Buttstett in his 1716 treatise Ut, mi, sol, re, fa, la, tota musica et harmonia aeterna, along with Johann Michael Bach's Revange, as examples of highly refined music. Neither Pachelbel's nor J.M. Bach's works survive.[4]
99
Deutlich Anweisung. Wie man durchs ganze Jahr bey wehrenden Gottesdienst, so wohl in den Vespern als Tagambt, bey S. Sebald m. der Orgel zu intonieren und zu respondiren sich zu verhalten habe.
Fugen und Praeambuln über die gewöhnlichsten Tonos figuratos
"Fugues and Preludes in all church modes", a collection announced in 1704 book fair catalogues. It was to be published in 1705, however, no trace of it remains.[5] Welter identifies this with a manuscript chorale collection, the so-called Weimar Tabulaturbuch.[6]
399
[deleted]
Notes
↑ Formerly thought to be concluding work of set. Now viewed as doubtful.
Johann Pachelbel was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of the middle Baroque era.
Dieterich Buxtehude was a Danish or German organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal and instrumental idioms, Buxtehude's style greatly influenced other composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach. Historically, Buxtehude is among the important composers of the mid-Baroque period in Germany.
Pachelbel's Canon is an accompanied canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. The canon was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue, known as Canon and Gigue for 3 violins and basso continuo. Both movements are in the key of D major. Although a true canon at the unison in three parts, it also has elements of a chaconne. Neither the date nor the circumstances of its composition are known, and the oldest surviving manuscript copy of the piece dates from 1838 to 1842.
In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 examples of the form in his Orgelbüchlein, along with multiple other works of the type in other collections.
A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the German Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chorale cantata includes multiple movements or parts. Most chorale cantatas were written between approximately 1650 and 1750. By far the most famous are by Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the cantatas composed in his second annual cycle of cantatas, started in Leipzig in 1724.
The Neumeister Collection is a compilation of 82 chorale preludes found in a manuscript copy produced by Johann Gottfried Neumeister (1757–1840). When the manuscript was rediscovered at Yale University in the 1980s it appeared to contain 31 previously unknown early chorale settings by Johann Sebastian Bach, which were added to the BWV catalogue as Nos. 1090–1120, and published in 1985.
Johann Heinrich Buttstett was a German Baroque organist and composer. Although he was Johann Pachelbel's most important pupil and one of the last major exponents of the south German organ tradition, Buttstett is best remembered for a dispute with Johann Mattheson.
Andreas Nicolaus Vetter was a German organist and composer.
Hexachordum Apollinis is a collection of keyboard music by Johann Pachelbel, published in 1699. It comprises six arias with variations, on original themes, and is generally regarded as one of the pinnacles of Pachelbel's oeuvre. The collection includes a preface in which Pachelbel dedicates the work to Dieterich Buxtehude and Ferdinand Tobias Richter and briefly discusses the nature of music.
The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist. The works form an encyclopedic collection of large-scale chorale preludes, in a variety of styles harking back to the previous century, that Bach gradually perfected during his career. Together with the Orgelbüchlein, the Schübler Chorales, the third book of the Clavier-Übung and the Canonic Variations, they represent the summit of Bach's sacred music for solo organ.
Erster Theil etlicher Choräle is a collection of liturgical organ music by Johann Pachelbel, published during his lifetime. It contains eight chorale preludes in seven different styles.
Andreas Armsdorff was a German composer and organist. He was born in Mühlberg, near Gotha, and studied music and law. At some point in his early life he moved to nearby Erfurt where he may have studied with Johann Pachelbel. He worked as organist in various churches in Erfurt: Reglerkirche, Andreaskirche, and Kaufmannskirche. He died in Erfurt at the age of 29.
Chaconne in D minor is an organ chaconne by Johann Pachelbel. It is one of the six surviving chaconnes by the composer, and one of his best known organ works.
Chaconne in F minor is an organ chaconne by Johann Pachelbel. One of the six surviving chaconnes by the composer, it is one of his best known organ works.
"Christ lag in Todesbanden" is an Easter hymn by Martin Luther. Its melody is by Luther and Johann Walter. Both the text and the melody were based on earlier examples. It was published in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion and in Walter's choral hymnal Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn. Various composers, including Pachelbel, Bach and Telemann, have used the hymn in their compositions.
Sacred concerto is a 17th-century genre of sacred music, characterized as settings of religious texts requiring both vocal soloists and obbligato instrumental forces for performance. Starting from Italian models, the genre flourished primarily in Germany. It is a broad term for various genres of chamber concerto for a small number of voices and instruments popular in Germany during the 17th century and prefiguring the late baroque church cantata and solo sacred cantata forms.
"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand" is a hymn for Easter by Martin Luther. The text originated in 1524. Johannes Zahn listed three hymn tunes for it. Two of these, Zahn Nos. 1976 and 1977, were published in 1724. A third, Zahn No. 1978, is attributed to Luther and was first published in 1529. Variants of this melody originated up to the early 17th century.
BWV Anh., abbreviation of Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis Anhang, is a list of lost, doubtful, and spurious compositions by, or once attributed to, Johann Sebastian Bach.
"An Wasserflüssen Babylon" is a Lutheran hymn by Wolfgang Dachstein, which was first published in Strasbourg in 1525. The text of the hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 137. Its singing tune, which is the best known part of the hymn and Dachstein's best known melody, was popularised as chorale tune of Paul Gerhardt's 17th-century Passion hymn "Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld". With this hymn text, Dachstein's tune is included in the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch.
References
Bouchard, Antoine. 1998–2001. Liner notes to: Pachelbel: The Complete Organ Works, 11 CD compilation. Dorian.
Perreault, Jean M. 2004. The Thematic Catalogue of the Musical Works of Johann Pachelbel. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Md. ISBN0-8108-4970-4
Welter, Kathryn J. 1998. Johann Pachelbel: Organist, Teacher, Composer, A Critical Reexamination of His Life, Works, and Historical Significance. Diss., Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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