A well-known piece of classical music, Pachelbel’s Canon in D, meets a large charity concert in Madrid (Spain, Europe) and shows how a simple musical pattern can support a very real project for children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa).
Key Takeaways
What this article is about
This article explains what a musical canon is, what makes Pachelbel’s Canon in D special, and how it was used in a big charity concert for education in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa).
The charity story in one line
On 8 June 2014, a large orchestra and choir in Madrid (Spain, Europe) played Canon in D in a concert that raised money to rebuild a free school for 2,400 children and to collect food for families in need.
Why the music matters
The piece feels calm and bright at the same time because three violins share one melody while a repeating bass pattern runs under the whole work, giving listeners a strong sense of safety and movement.
A small language extra
Short Dutch sentences about listening to the canon show how music can become part of daily speech for learners in the Netherlands (Europe).
Story & Details
A German composer with one very famous canon
Johann Pachelbel was a composer from what is now Germany (Europe). He lived from 1653 to 1706 and wrote many pieces of church and chamber music, but today one work is known almost everywhere: Pachelbel’s Canon in D. It is part of a pair of pieces called Canon and Gigue in D major for three violins and basso continuo, a small group that plays the bass and harmony.
How a canon works in simple words
A canon in music is a kind of organised echo. One voice starts a melody. After a short time, another voice starts exactly the same melody while the first one continues. Then a third voice can join, and so on. The tune overlaps with itself. The listener hears one idea, but many entrances. In Canon in D, three violins follow each other in this way, like three people walking the same path with a small delay between them.
One looping bass line under everything
Under the three violins, the bass line of Canon in D repeats the same eight-chord pattern again and again. This repeating pattern is called a ground bass or basso ostinato. The chords in D major follow this path: D – A – B minor – F sharp minor – G – D – G – A. The pattern never really changes. What changes is the rhythm and decoration of the violin parts on top. At the start, the notes move slowly. Then the music adds faster notes, dotted rhythms and small jumps. The harmony stays the same, but the feeling grows from quiet to shining.
From quiet baroque score to everyday soundtrack
For a long time, Canon in D was not widely played. In the twentieth century, new recordings on vinyl and CD brought it back. The soft, flowing sound made it popular at weddings, memorial services and slow scenes in films, especially in the United States (North America) and across Europe (Europe). Pop and rock songs began to use the same chord progression, so even people who do not know the name “Pachelbel” often feel that the harmony sounds familiar.
A concert for Congo and for families in Spain
On 8 June 2014, more than eleven years before December 2025, Canon in D formed part of a major charity concert in the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid (Spain, Europe). The event brought together a very large orchestra and choir under several conductors to support the rebuilding of a free primary school in Goma, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa). The money helped a centre that could welcome about 2,400 children, including former child soldiers, and offer them basic education, food, and support. At the same time, food was collected outside the hall for social dining rooms, day-care centres and families in need in Spain (Europe). The concert began at 19:00 in Madrid (Spain, Europe) and at 19:00 in the Netherlands (Europe) on that same Sunday.
Dutch phrases for a musical moment
In the Netherlands (Europe), Canon in D often plays in wedding halls, churches and living rooms. Simple Dutch lines can help a learner speak about this music in daily life:
Ik luister naar de canon.
Dit is mooie muziek.
Nog een keer, alsjeblieft.
Each sentence shows something small and useful. Ik luister naar de canon uses Ik for “I” as the subject, luister as the present tense of “to listen”, naar as the small word that connects “listen” and its object, de as the common word for “the”, and canon as the noun. Dit is mooie muziek uses Dit for “this”, is for “is”, mooie as a form of “beautiful”, and muziek for “music”. Nog een keer, alsjeblieft joins nog (“again” or “still”), een (“a”), keer (“time” in the sense of repetition), and alsjeblieft, a polite but informal way to say “please”. A more formal option is alstublieft, and a shorter, neutral variant of the whole sentence is Nog een keer, graag.
A performance to watch at home
For listeners who want to see how the three violin lines and the bass line move together, one clear option is a performance on original instruments by the early music ensemble Voices of Music, filmed in high quality and shared on a well-known classical channel.
The camera shows the three violinists taking turns with the melody while the continuo group repeats the quiet bass pattern. The video makes the idea of a canon and a ground bass easy to see, not only to hear.
Conclusions
Simple notes, strong effects
Pachelbel’s Canon in D is built on very little material: one melody shared between three violins and one repeating chain of chords in the bass. From this small set of tools, the piece creates a long, smooth arc that feels safe, sad, hopeful and bright, often in the space of only a few minutes.
Music, memory and quiet help
The 2014 concert in Madrid (Spain, Europe) shows how this piece can hold more than private memories of weddings or film scenes. In that event, Canon in D helped raise money for a free school in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa) and food for families in Spain (Europe). As of December 2025, the recording of the canon on video and the written stories of the concert keep that moment alive. The melody loops, the bass repeats, and the idea of sharing through music continues its quiet work.
Selected References
Key background on the music and the concert
[1] “Pachelbel’s Canon.” Encyclopedic overview of the piece, its history, and later popularity in film and pop music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachelbel%27s_Canon
[2] “Canon and Gigue D major for three Violins and Basso continuo.” G. Henle Verlag. Short description of the original scoring and urtext edition.
https://www.henle.de/Canon-and-Gigue-D-major-for-three-Violins-and-Basso-continuo/HN-1113
[3] “Canon in D – Johann Pachelbel.” Strijkinstrumentenshop. Brief explanation of the basso ostinato and structure for general readers.
https://www.strijkinstrumentenshop.nl/en/canon-in-d.html
[4] “Concierto por El Congo 2014.” Official project page for the 8 June 2014 charity concert in Madrid with details on aims and results.
https://vocesparalapaz.com/concierto-por-el-congo/
[5] “Compra tu entrada para el concierto ‘Voces para la Paz’.” Fundación CODESPA. Article describing the concert, the school project in Goma and the food collection plan.
https://www.codespa.org/blog/2014/05/19/compra-tu-entrada-para-el-concierto-voces-para-la-paz/
[6] “‘Voces para la Paz’ para reconstruir una escuela gratuita en Congo.” Europa Press. News report on the 8 June 2014 concert and its fundraising goal.
https://www.europapress.es/cultura/musica-00129/noticia-codespa-celebra-domingo-concierto-voces-paz-reconstruir-escuela-gratuita-congo-20140606134432.html
[7] “Pachelbel Canon in D Major – the original and best version.” Voices of Music. High-quality performance on original instruments, with clear view of the three violin parts and the continuo group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvNQLJ1_HQ0
Appendix
Baroque music
Baroque music is a style of classical music from about 1600 to 1750 in Europe (Europe), marked by strong bass lines, clear rhythms and often rich decoration in the melodies.
Canon
A canon is a musical form in which the same melody is played or sung by different voices, one after another, so the tune overlaps with itself in time.
Chord progression
A chord progression is a planned sequence of chords that gives a piece of music its sense of direction, tension and release.
Dutch mini-sentences
Dutch mini-sentences are short lines such as Ik luister naar de canon or Nog een keer, alsjeblieft that show everyday grammar and are easy to reuse when talking about music.
Ground bass
Ground bass is a repeating bass line that runs through much or all of a piece and supports changing melodies above it.
Ostinato
Ostinato is a short musical pattern, in rhythm or pitch, that repeats many times in a row, often in the bass, creating a feeling of stability.
Pachelbel’s Canon in D
Pachelbel’s Canon in D is a piece by Johann Pachelbel for three violins and basso continuo that uses a strict canon in the upper voices over a repeating eight-chord pattern in the key of D major.
Voices for Peace
Voices for Peace is a large charity music project based in Madrid (Spain, Europe) that brings together orchestral players and singers for concerts that raise money for education and basic support projects in different countries.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 