General Biography on Pachelbel

Johann Pachelbel is one of the giants of Baroque choral music, and his works have graced Festival programs for many years. Born a generation before Bach and Handel, Pachelbel spent his early years in Nuremberg (where he also died). By most accounts he was gifted both musically and intellectually. He also benefited from having excellent teachers, in particular Kaspar Prentz. After filling some assistant organist positions, Pachelbel landed a prestigious post in Vienna, the capital of the Habsburg Empire and cultural locus for southern Germany and northern Italy. In Vienna, and through the influence of Prentz, he would have had a chance to “listen in” on musical cross currents as they passed through that capital city. In this way he could witness the rise of the violin sonatas and concertos coming north across the Alps, while continuing to respect the central German style upon which he was reared.
The latter style governs his massive output of keyboard music (toccatas, preludes, organ chorales), while in the vocal genres he tended to favor Catholic, Italian treatments. For instance, in the two motets heard this evening, Pachelbel takes the Italian device of split choirs—often basing the progression on literal repetition (echo) from one choir to the other—as a way to meditate at length upon short phrases of psalm texts. While he retains the careful dissonance treatment and penchant for suspended cadences, the vocal writing shows the lingering presence of a madrigal-like interest in rhythm and vibrant textures.

(c) Jason Stell