Poor Pachelbel! A man characterised in the New Grove as “one of the leading progressive composers of his time” now has a reputation based on a single work, a canon so well-known that people are familiar with it without even knowing his name.
Amandine Beyer’s new collection should help fix that.
Yes, the Canon itself is here, fresh and unlumbering, with its companion Gigue, sprightly and uplifting.
The bulk of the disc is given over to his major surviving work of chamber music, Musikalische Ergötzung (Musical Delight), six suites for two violins and continuo, each beginning with a sonata or sonatine, followed by ear-tickling dance movements.
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Five arias, sung by tenor Hans Jörg Mammel, range from lamentatory to celebratory.
