5 Famous Tunes in Classical Music that Made It to Pop #1
As children, you may have been singing the “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” song at school and then playing almost the same melody in your piano classes as “Twelve Variations” on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" by W. A. Mozart. Has the musical genius borrowed a children's folk song? Or was it the other way around? In any case, today we'll be looking at several pieces with a clear primary source – many pop or rock hits inspired by famous works of classical music.
1. Johannes Pachelbel: Canon in D
Are you familiar with the main theme of Pachelbel's famous "Canon in D major"? Never in your life have you heard of Pachelbel but that sequence of chords D, A, H, F#, G, D, G, A rings a bell? Well, this chord progression has become so familiar in popular culture that musicians across genres are "borrowing" it. You'll hear it in the Pet Shop Boys' cover "Go West" (written by Village People), in Coolio's song "C U When U Get There", or in "Basket Case" by Green Day. It also served as the basis of a Soviet anthem, even though slightly altered rhythmically.
2. J. S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor
"Ta-da-daaaah... Ta-da-da-da daaah daaaaaaaaaah..." or the fateful "Dum-dum-dum-dummm" from Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 65 (1st movement). The opening theme of Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) is widely known and gives many people goosebumps. Fragments of this organ piece then appear in popular music sometimes in unexpected contexts – for example, in Eurodance's 2 Unlimited (the 1994 song "The Real Thing") or in Eddie Van Halen's work (the guitar solo in "Eruption").
3. J. S. Bach: Air
Musicians from Zeppelin through Queen to Alicia Keys could tell stories about the magic of that descending bass line. It's kitschy but beautiful. In particular, the opening chord progression with the majestically walking descending bass of Bach's "Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major" (BWV 1068) can be found in Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (you know that scene from Pirate Radio: Boat Sinking when the ship and its whole crew are sinking? Descending bass... sinking... you know, so touching!) or, quite blatantly in Sweetbox's 90s hit "Everything's Gonna Be Alright".
4. L. van Beethoven: the "Moonlight" Sonata
The Beatles were often inspired by classical music, especially by J.S. Bach – for example, the solo for piccolo trumpet in "Penny Lane" is a melody from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (BWV 1047), and the end of "All You Need Is Love" features a quotation from his Two-Part Invention No. 8 F major (BWV 779). But the Beatles wouldn’t say no to uncle Beethoven either – it was allegedly the fault of Yoko Ono because Lennon heard her play the Moonlight Sonata (Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2) and liked the opening harmony. Anyway, the intro of "Because" is clearly inspired by this piano hit. Alicia Keys ("Piano & I") also included the beginning of Moonlight Sonata in the introduction of her debut album Songs In A Minor. Also, as a sample, the song often appears in hip hop and R'n'B works in various rhythmizations (for example in Neneh Cherry's "Somedays").
5. L. van Beethoven: "For Elise"
The impressive mini-composition composed by "Ludwig van" in 1810 (and musicologists still argue about which lady the piece was really intended for) stirs passions to this day – it gets on the nerves of both piano teachers and anyone who works near a public piano. Everybody, total beginners including, want to play "For Elise". So there is a good reason why you would find the following sign in one of the Prague cafés:
By the way, the piece was not discovered until 1865 by the German scholar Ludwig Nohl (by then Mr LvB had been six feet under for thirty-eight years). It's a good thing we have such music scientists; otherwise, what would one play on the piano, right?
Nas also used the Elise melody as a childhood dream motif in his self-empowerment song "I Can". And the metal dinosaurs Accept wanted to show as well that they went to music school in their "Metal Heart" (time 3:19).
Does it feel to you that we focus too much on Bach and Beethoven? Well, they wrote immortal hits. However, in future parts, we'll look at Bridget Jones, in her pyjamas and with a bottle of wine, crying while listening to Rachmaninov covered in "All By Myself", or Radiohead getting involved with a Chopin's piano prelude. Drop us more tips on classical music used in popular one in the comments!
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