Johann Pachelbel
Canon - arranged by Liapunov
in D Major
Pachelbel's most famous work, the beautiful and hypnotic canon in D never fails to fascinate its listener. The basso ostinato – a two-bar melody in the left hand - is repeated 28 times, but be prepared to want to go on playing it forever.
Year: 1680
Period: Baroque
Piano score: PS Edition 
Audiovisual Study Tool
Pachelbel's iconic bass line
Pachelbel's Canon is built around a two-bar ostinato, which becomes the foundation for a set of 28 variations, in which the violins interact in canon with one another. Liapunov's version is an attempt to transcribe all three violin parts as faithfully as possible, plus adding a broken chord accompaniment in the left hand. The result is an advanced excercise in finger independence, chord and double note playing.Background
The popularity of Pachelbel's Canon, originally scored for three violins and basso continuo, snowballed in the 1970s, after French conductor Jean-François Paillard made a recording. Since then, the music has been recorded hundreds of times, and the iconic harmony has made its way into pop songs, films, and adverts.Forum posts about this piece:
Cannon in D Question by kimbralala
Can someone please explain to me why in measure 10 it switches from a 1585 pattern to a 15x5 pattern when it gets to F#? I'd just really love to know the reasoning behind why for F the pattern breaks.
Canon as arranged by Liapunov by plk4life
I am a relatively new piano player and I find this piece to be a bit daunting, especially because I am unable to hear it played. I play a lot more by ear than I do by sightreading. I am wondering if...
Fingering problem in Pachelbel's canon in D by yuc4h
I find this section particularly difficult to come up with a decent fingering. Help would be really appreciated....
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This piece is composed by Johann Pachelbel and was published in 1680. Title: Canon in D (arr. by Liapunov), in D Major from Arrangements of Canon in D. The difficulty level if graded by ABRSM would be approximately 6 and it belongs to the Baroque period.