Welcome Worship & Music Cathedral Life Education & Outreach Building & History

St Machar Cathedral

Music for August 2022

The Choir is officially off now until the first Sunday of September. We shall, however, sing an anthem most Sundays.

The organ music this month will be taken from works by the north German composer Johannes Pachelbel. Born in Nuremberg in 1653, he held several important organ posts and he exerted a considerable influence over J.S.Bach. In addition to the famous Canon, for three violins over a continuo bass – an extremely well-crafted piece, combining variations, ground bass and canon - Pachelbel wrote extensively for the organ. There are well over 50 Chorale Preludes, and a number of large free compositions. Pachelbel, as his contemporary Buxtehude, pointed the way to releasing the meaning of Chorales through extensive use of musical figurations, and, in his free-standing works, demonstrated a new dynamic of tonality as a structural force.

August 7th.

Music before the Servce: Fantasia in g minor J.Pachelbel (1653-1706)

Music after the Service: Fugue in d minor J.Pachelbel

August 14th.

Music before the Service: Vater unser im Himmelreich J.Pachelbel

Music after the Service: Fugue in D Major J.Pachelbel

August 21st.

Music before the Service: Durch Adams Fall is ganz verdebt: J.Pachelbel

Music after the Service: Was mein Gott will J.Pachelbel

August 28th.

Music before the Service: Ricercar in c minor J.Pachelbel

Music after the Service: Praeludium in d minor J.Pachelbel.