Yeah, so this thread is a year old.... I'll put in my 2 cents anyways. I like Pachelbel's Canon in D, but Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is just as beautiful. Take a listen, but the video it accompanies is hard to watch.

I agree Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is a moving piece because it has a lovely, though short, theme, and a deeply somber mood...which fits well the video of the Sept. 11th attacks. However, I feel the piece goes on much too long. It also feels melodramatic to me...perhaps because it does go on so long, repeating the short theme again and again and again. I do very much like the buildup to the resolution around 6:50.

So, I prefer Pachelbel's Canon in D. I like the longer theme and its overlapping repetition (the canon structure), which satisfy me intellectually more than the Barber piece. More important, though, to me is the feeling of the song. Pachelbel's Canon feels exquisite to me. The structure seems invisible and effortless beneath the piece's feeling of supreme joy touched with sadness. Pachelbel's Canon in D epitomizes uplifting music, while Barber's adagio emphasizes tragedy: quite opposite pieces in this regard, really.

Like others in the thread said, Canon in D is played very frequently...yet I understand why. It is a beautiful and extremely well-crafted, succinct piece. I even played it on my violin as part of a quartet at my own wedding, which was fun not only because I always liked playing Pachelbel's Cannon, but also because I liked breaking the rule about "not seeing the bride" before the ceremony. :)

Now we can have a "sound-off" and you can listen to this version of Pachelbel's Canon in D to compare with Barber's Adagio for Strings. Can I lure you back to the Pachelbel fold?

I love Pachelbel's Canon, but I can't stop getting the Pachelbel rant out of my head when I think of it, haha. I love hearing it being played. Even though when I was in a quartet I was a violist and my part wasn't too great, but it was always nice hearing the violins doing their thing. lol

i like it... its really pretty.

Viola players don't always get the love they should, do they, almonds! ;)

I actually often prefer the warmer, lower sound of the viola to the thinner, higher sound of the violin. Pachelbel's Canon is a great one to play if you are the violinists, though. I must confess I don't usually get "viola" envy, because they often don't get the most exciting parts.

Yes, it is pretty, isn't it?

I'm sure it's been said on this thread before, but the piece is everywhere in pop music. It's such a nice progression though so I don't mind.

Very overrated piece. :)

Not at all :)

Why? Because it wasn't composed by Mozart?

You forgot your smiley :)