Pachelbel's Greatest Hit: Canon in D

Johann Pachelbel (Composer), George Rochberg (Composer), Rudolf Baumgartner (Conductor), Glenn Spreen (Conductor), Ettore Stratta (Conductor), Canadian Brass (Performer), Concord String Quartet (Performer), Lucerne Festival Strings (Orchestra), Plasma Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Baroque Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), James Galway (Performer), Cleo Laine (Performer), Tomita (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Canadian Brass, Concord String Quartet, James Galway, Cleo Laine, Tomita
• Orchestra: Lucerne Festival Strings, Plasma Symphony Orchestra, Baroque Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: Rudolf Baumgartner, Glenn Spreen, Ettore Stratta
• Composer: Johann Pachelbel, George Rochberg
• Audio CD (February 15, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003F39
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,611 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #2 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Canons

Editorial Reviews

This is a wonderful recording.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved Part of It, December 20, 2003

By 

Patrick O'Brien - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pachelbel's Greatest Hit: Canon in D (Audio CD)

Pachelbel's Canon in D is my very favorite piece of music, so when I received this CD as an "early Christmas present" I was really happy.

I absolutely fell in love with the first track, which is beautifully performed by the Festival Strings Lucerne. I am a great fan of Baroque music played on Baroque instruments, so I also loved track eight, performed by the Baroque Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Ettore Stratta.

I didn't think I would like track two, which is a flute rendition by James Galway. Although it does make the Canon sound more Celtic than German Baroque, I did like it, probably because I'm a big fan of woodwinds. I did think the inclusion of two tracks by James Galway was one track too many, though.

I'm not a big fan of brass instruments, nevertheless, track three, performed by The Canadian Brass was lovely and they did stick to the melody of the Canon, rather then going off on tangents.

Track four, variations of the Canon performed by the Concord String Quartet was a surprise to me. I thought I would love it because I love string quartets, but the variations were just "too varied" and they made Pachelbel's Canon, at its heart, uplifting and joyous, sound more like a funeral dirge.

Tracks five, six and seven I found rather horrifying. They are all more or less "New Age" renditions of the Canon and, as such, simply unacceptable to me. Especially horrid was track five, which contains, of all things, a vocal. Cleo Laine has a very nice voice, but Pachelbel's Canon simply does not contain a vocal!

I thought about giving this CD three stars, but I felt that would be doing a disservice to tracks one and eight, especially, which in my mind, are flawless.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is nothing better., March 27, 2001

By 

Melissa (South St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pachelbel's Greatest Hit: Canon in D (Audio CD)

I just bought this CD last week, and have listened to it non-stop. This is a must buy for anyone who is a fan of Johann Pachelbel, track number 1 Cannon in D is probably the most romantic piece of music of anytime. I have never heard any thing more beautiful, and if you are not a huge fan of classical music..give this CD a chance and you will be.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some very touching songs here ...., July 24, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pachelbel's Greatest Hit: Canon in D (Audio CD)

Pachelbel's Canon is definitely cream of the crop. It is for all ages and the more you listen to it, the more you appreciate it's beauty. I bought this CD as a gift for a friend. She said that this piece brought her tears, it was so beautiful.

Even though this collection is my favorite, I wish they had put in a piano solo. I also think that the vocalist in track 5 was not able to bring out the color in Pachelbel's Canon.

Overall, a brilliant collection of Pachelbel's greatest hit!