Johann Pachelbel
(1653 - 1706)
Johann Pachelbel (September 1, 1653 - March 9, 1706) was born in Nuremberg, then one of the so-called "free" imperial cities and a great center of learning and culture, a took instructions from Heinrich Schwemmer. After leaving school in 1669, he spent a year in Altdorf before moving to Regensburg where he began to make valuable contacts with musicians associated with the Austrian Court in Vienna. By 1673 he was living in Vienna, where he was deputy organist at St. Stephen's Cathedral and took music lessons with Johann Kaspar Kerll, who fashioned Pachelbel's sophisticated organ style. The younger man often deputized for Kerll on the organ of the Predigerkirche.
Enjoy classical concerts of Pachelbel music in Prague. Book tickets online >>>
In 1677 Pachelbel left Vienna and began a peripatetic period in his life where he held the organ position in churches in many towns across the central and southern German states, including Eisenach and Erfurt (where he came into contact with the Bach family, including Ambrosius Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach's father), Stuttgart and Gotha. He remained in Gotha from 1692-95, then return to his home city of Nuremburg, this time on a substantially different footing than when he had left it; Pachelbel was by now a famous and influential figure in the world of music, his especial skill in composition – his infinitely inventive creation of chorale variations stressing the importance of cantabile and clarity of line – proving especially popular and definitive in the world of organ music at that time. His many pupils included Johann Sebastian Bach's elder brother Johann Christoph, who was one of many to digest his methodology and carry his compositional message to others.
Pachelbel had return to Nuremberg to succeed to his old teacher Georg Kaspar Wecker at the church of St. Sebaldus, a position he retained until his death at the age of 52. Most of his music was written for the organ, but some of his earliest surviving works are a set of motets including Nun danket alle Gott and Der Herr ist König, written during his time in Erfurt, which are a models of clarity and tunefulness. His greatest compositional achievement is generally recognized to be the Hexachordum Apollinis of 1699, six sets of keyboard variations on various aria, but other worthy efforts include Musikalische Stephens-Gedanken of 1683 and the Musikalische Ergötzung (1695), a series of dance suites written for string trio which were meant for the type of domestic entertainment at court or among musical colleagues supplied in a later generation by Georg Philipp Telemann's Tafelmusik. It would seem that the famed Canon and Gigue for three violins and bass continuo was probably written for a similar Hausmusik function; its orchestration occurred much later.
Upcoming classical concerts of the composer's music in Prague:
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May
2
Thursday
Pearls of Classical Music in Prague Castle - Lobkowicz Palace
Time: 13:00
Prague Castle, Lobkowicz Palace
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May
2
Thursday
Classic Spectacular
Time: 17:30
Klementinum, St. Salvator Church (Charles Bridge)
-
May
2
Thursday
Famous Concert for organ and orchestra
Time: 18:00
St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square
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May
2
Thursday
Classic Spectacular in Mirror Chapel
Time: 18:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
2
Thursday
Bolero, Carmina Burana
Time: 19:00
Spanish Synagogue
-
May
2
Thursday
The Best of Swan Lake - P. I. Tchaikovsky
Time: 19:00
Broadway Theatre
-
May
2
Thursday
Great Arias for Soprano and Trumpet
Time: 19:00
St. Francis Church
-
May
2
Thursday
Mozart Dinner - Your private opera in Prague
Time: 19:00
Boccaccio Ballroom
-
May
2
Thursday
Abrakadabra
Time: 20:00
Image - Black Light Theatre
-
May
2
Thursday
The Four Seasons, Emperor Concerto & Chopin in Mirror Chapel
Time: 20:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
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May
3
Friday
Pearls of Classical Music in Prague Castle - Lobkowicz Palace
Time: 13:00
Prague Castle, Lobkowicz Palace
-
May
3
Friday
Music World between baroque and jazz in a virtuoso performance
Time: 18:00
St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square
-
May
3
Friday
Classic Spectacular in Mirror Chapel
Time: 18:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
3
Friday
Ave Maria, Alleluja and Czech Music
Time: 19:00
St. Francis Church
-
May
3
Friday
Classic Spectacular
Time: 19:30
Klementinum, St. Salvator Church (Charles Bridge)
-
May
3
Friday
The Best of Image
Time: 20:00
Image - Black Light Theatre
-
May
3
Friday
WOW Show
Time: 20:00
WOW - Black Light Theatre
-
May
3
Friday
The Four Seasons, Emperor Concerto & Chopin in Mirror Chapel
Time: 20:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
3
Friday
Vivaldi Four Seasons
Time: 20:30
St. Giles Church
-
May
4
Saturday
Pearls of Classical Music in Prague Castle - Lobkowicz Palace
Time: 13:00
Prague Castle, Lobkowicz Palace
-
May
4
Saturday
Vivaldi Four Seasons in Old Prague
Time: 17:00
St. Giles Church
-
May
4
Saturday
FAMOUS EASTER COMPOSITION BY FAMOUS COMPOSERS
Time: 18:00
St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square
-
May
4
Saturday
Classic Spectacular in Mirror Chapel
Time: 18:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
4
Saturday
Ave Maria, Bach-Air
Time: 19:00
St. Francis Church
-
May
4
Saturday
Mozart Dinner - Your private opera in Prague
Time: 19:00
Boccaccio Ballroom
-
May
4
Saturday
Classic Spectacular
Time: 19:30
Church of Our Lady before Tyn (Tyn Church)
-
May
4
Saturday
Classic Spectacular
Time: 19:30
Klementinum, St. Salvator Church (Charles Bridge)
-
May
4
Saturday
Afrikania
Time: 20:00
Image - Black Light Theatre
-
May
4
Saturday
Dvořák's New World Symphony in Smetana Hall, 60 musicians on stage
Time: 20:00
Municipal House (Obecní dům), Smetana hall
-
May
4
Saturday
The Four Seasons, Emperor Concerto & Chopin in Mirror Chapel
Time: 20:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
5
Sunday
Pearls of Classical Music in Prague Castle - Lobkowicz Palace
Time: 13:00
Prague Castle, Lobkowicz Palace
-
May
5
Sunday
Vivaldi Four Seasons
Time: 17:00
St. Giles Church
-
May
5
Sunday
Concert at Prague Castle - Mozart, Vivaldi and Pachelbel
Time: 17:30
Prague Castle, St. George's Basilica
-
May
5
Sunday
Classic Spectacular
Time: 17:30
Klementinum, St. Salvator Church (Charles Bridge)
-
May
5
Sunday
Classic Spectacular in Mirror Chapel
Time: 18:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
5
Sunday
Bolero, Carmina Burana
Time: 19:00
Spanish Synagogue
-
May
5
Sunday
Great Arias for Soprano and Trumpet
Time: 19:00
St. Francis Church
-
May
5
Sunday
Strauss, Mozart, Dvorak & Opera with Ballet
Time: 20:00
Municipal House (Obecní dům), Smetana hall
-
May
5
Sunday
WOW Show
Time: 20:00
WOW - Black Light Theatre
-
May
5
Sunday
The Four Seasons, Emperor Concerto & Chopin in Mirror Chapel
Time: 20:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
6
Monday
Pearls of Classical Music in Prague Castle - Lobkowicz Palace
Time: 13:00
Prague Castle, Lobkowicz Palace
-
May
6
Monday
Vivaldi Four Seasons in Old Prague
Time: 16:30
St. Giles Church
-
May
6
Monday
Famous organ works and duets for soprano and trumpet
Time: 18:00
St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square
-
May
6
Monday
Classic Spectacular in Mirror Chapel
Time: 18:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
6
Monday
Hallelujah
Time: 19:00
Spanish Synagogue
-
May
6
Monday
The Best of Swan Lake - P. I. Tchaikovsky
Time: 19:00
Broadway Theatre
-
May
6
Monday
The Best of Mozart with Opera and Ballet
Time: 20:00
Municipal House (Obecní dům), Smetana hall
-
May
6
Monday
Classic Spectacular
Time: 20:00
Klementinum, St. Salvator Church (Charles Bridge)
-
May
7
Tuesday
Pearls of Classical Music in Prague Castle - Lobkowicz Palace
Time: 13:00
Prague Castle, Lobkowicz Palace
-
May
7
Tuesday
Concert at Prague Castle - Mozart, Vivaldi and Pachelbel
Time: 17:30
Prague Castle, St. George's Basilica
-
May
7
Tuesday
The Fascinating world of music between baroque, oper and operette
Time: 18:00
St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square
-
May
7
Tuesday
Classic Spectacular in Mirror Chapel
Time: 18:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel
-
May
7
Tuesday
Bolero, Carmina Burana
Time: 19:00
Spanish Synagogue
-
May
7
Tuesday
Famous Ave Maria for Soprano and Violin
Time: 19:00
St. Francis Church
-
May
7
Tuesday
Mozart Dinner - Your private opera in Prague
Time: 19:00
Boccaccio Ballroom
-
May
7
Tuesday
Vivaldi - The Four Seasons
Time: 19:00
Klementinum, St. Clement's Cathedral
-
May
7
Tuesday
Classic Spectacular
Time: 19:30
Church of Our Lady before Tyn (Tyn Church)
-
May
7
Tuesday
Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, Sarasate - Gypsy Airs op. 20
Time: 20:00
Municipal House (Obecní dům), Smetana hall
-
May
7
Tuesday
Abrakadabra
Time: 20:00
Image - Black Light Theatre
-
May
7
Tuesday
The Four Seasons, Emperor Concerto & Chopin in Mirror Chapel
Time: 20:00
Klementinum, Mirror Chapel