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The other day in church, the choir sang a version of one of our traditional hymns set to the music of Johann Pachabel’s “Cannon in D”. It was very beautiful and calming, and since I have been working a lot on FotoFamilyMemories.com late, it got me to thinking.

According to Wikipedia, a cannon is:

…a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e.g. quarter rest, one measure, etc.). The initial melody is called the leader, while the imitative melody is called the follower which is played in a different voice. The follower must be created from the leader by being either an exact replication of the rhythms and intervals of the leader, or a transformation of such…

So, in other words, a musical cannon is a melody that gets repeated over and over again with different instruments or in different styles. The chords are the same, but you never know how they will be dressed up next. Perhaps the most famous cannon is Johann (Paco) Pacabel’s “Canon in D major”, or as it is formally called “Canon and Gigue in D major for three Violins with Bass Accompaniment”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachelbel’s_Canon)

What struck me most about Pachabel’s “Cannon” was it’s versatility. I like that so many people are able to take his original cannon and express themselves by making it their own. I am not talking about people who go and record it in their style of music, adding a few bee-bops or drum rolls; rather, they are able to totally remake the song in their own style. I mean, Pachabel’s “Cannon” is played by classical orchestras in its original form, then played as a wedding march, a graduation commencement march, and a Christmas carol. Furthermore, it has been incorporated into modern Rock, Rap and R&B Ballads.
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Pachabel’s “Cannon”