Tuesday, March 17, 2015

A Lovely "Transformation of Pachelbel's Canon" for Marimba

I’m not sure about you but when I hear “canon” my first thought is to prolong it to Canon in D or to Pachabel’s Canon. But in both cases it would only refer to that very famous music piece by outstanding German composer Johann Pachelbel.

So many years passed, first before the composition got popular after its creation in 1919 (a few decades), and then after it was re-discovered in the 20th century. Despite that, it eventually became composer’s most well-known creation and many artists played, covered, arranged it then and now. Originally, “Canon and Gigue in D” was scored for three violins and a basso continuo. But who cares what the instrument is if the desire to play it is too high?

So I heard a number of bright performances of the piece, and every time there is something to be pleased with. Maybe it’s all about the magic magnetism of the piece itself? Anyway, here’s a curious transformation of the canon on Marimba! Why not :) It’s an interesting instrument by itself and even the most recognizable compositions sound different on it. Yea, maybe the guy’s (Nanae Mimura) performance is not all that smooth but he’s doing a great job!