Pachelbel's Greatest Hit: The Ultimate Canon

Simply lovely

I can listen to any Pachabel collection, but this one is great. I play it over and over & can never get sick of it! October 2, 2008

Not for lovers of the 18th Century classics

For those of us that truly appreciate the beauty of 18th Century music played on period instruments or modern orchestra instruments, this CD is not for us. I was very disappointed at the interruption presented with modern electronic instruments and modern vocal interpretations, none of which are identified in the product description. I also purchased Pachelbel Canon by Tomaso Albinoni, English Anonymous, Johann Sebastian Bach at the same time which I highly recommend and rate as 5 stars. August 30, 2008

A rather awful recording

I've had the misfortune to hear this CD and all the perversions of Johann Andreas Pachelbel's chamber piece on this CD once too often.

The work was written for three solo violins and basso continuo [violoncello or viola da gamba + organ or harpsichord] and it is a rather virtuoso work, typical of works written for a small group of violins [or cornetti] over an ostinato bass line in the 17th century.

All but one "interpretation" on this CD bares little or no similarity to the written score at all and almost all of the arrangements of the piece are complete kitsch, trash, even. Cleo Laine's "song" is probably the worst example.

So what do we learn about the composer from this CD? Virtually nothing. However, it is instructive to learn how tastelessly a piece of music can be pushed, strained, pummelled, shredded, extracted, decimated, pumped up, deflated, force-fed, mutated and generally exploited by musicians, singers and arrangers who clearly have no knowledge of 17th century music and couldn't care less about acquiring any knowledge of that music.

I work in a music shop and it always amuses me when people who've bought CDs like this one decide to explore Pachelbel's music a little further and discover that they've been completely hoodwinked and that the composer's actual music sounds nothing like any interpretation of the Canon [& Gigue] they've ever heard - except, of course, if they've been fortunate enough to hear Musica Antiqua Köln's or London Baroque's recordings. They walk away bewildered by the organ music, chamber music and cantatas of J. A. Pachelbel.

Two stars for the one rather pleasant H.I.P. recording on this CD. February 24, 2008

EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR

We're getting married in June 08 and this is exactly the music We were looking for! Great cd and an excellent price!! December 29, 2007

Save your money

I walked down the aisle to the Canon years ago, such a masterful and beautiful piece. Most of these versions just don't do justice. Sorry. October 3, 2007

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