Pachelbel and Humperdinck

Donald Macleod explores some of the greatest “one-hit wonders” in classical music.

Donald Macleod and guest Sarah Willis explore the lives and music of Johann Pachelbel and Engelbert Humperdinck, both composers who are primarily famous for a single work.

Classical music is littered with composers who are famous for just a single piece of music. In a special week of Composer of the Week programmes, Donald Macleod is joined by Berlin Philharmonic horn player Sarah Willis to explore ten of these composers and examine episodes from their lives, alongside their compositions – both their popular hits and some of their less familiar music. They also try to isolate why certain works have captured the popular imagination of audiences around the world.

In Monday’s programme, Donald and Sarah reveal their first two composers. Johann Pachelbel is famed primarily for a short canon. Engelbert Humperdinck composed one of the most popular operas in the world today, but is remembered for very little else!

Pachelbel: Canon & Gigue for 3 violins and continuo in D major
Il Giardiano Armonico
Giovanni Antonini (conductor)

Pachelbel: Christ lag in Todesbanden
Beate Spaltner, soprano
Nils Giebelhausen, tenor
Wolf Matthias Friedrich, bass
Jurgen Banholzer, alto
Hermann Oswald, tenor
Balthasar-Neumann-Chor
Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble
Thomas Hengelbrock

Humperdinck: Erinnerung
Hinrich Alpers, piano

Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel (excerpts)
Rebecca Evans, soprano (Gretel)
Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano (Hansel)
Diana Montague, mezzo-soprano (Sandman)
New London Children's Choir
Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor)

Humperdinck: Königskinder, "Verdorben! Gestorben!..Ihr Kindlein, sie sind gefunden"
Matthias Goerne, baritone (Fiddler)
Children's Choir From Adolf Fredrik's Music School
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck (conductor)

Produced by Sam Phillips, for BBC Wales