A young South Korean boy stole the attention of many when he sat down and hammered out Pachelbel’s Canon on piano near Sinchon station (Seoul).
The boy’s name is Lee Jaehyung. The video was posted by Daily Busking earlier this year.
The channel specializes in posting visual content of “original, new K-POP live performance and street live clips with various artists every week.”
Although the video is titled, “A Boy Finds Street Piano, Suddenly Plays ‘Canon’ So Fast,” there are cameras that have been set up to capture the moment. Nonetheless, the performance is pure gold as Jaehyung performs the piece with ease.
At first, it seems that passersby are too busy to stop and watch Jaehyung play. Although they show their curiosity by looking at the cameras and staring at the boy, few actually stop to listen.
You begin to fear that nobody will and the poor kid would be let down after giving such a magnificent performance.
Jaehyung does not deter from giving it his all regardless of who is in the crowd. But sure enough, he draws a small crowd of interested parties who, of course, pull out their cameras to capture the whimsical tune.
There looks to be a sort of tip jar set up behind Jaehyung on a chair. It doesn’t appear that anybody tosses anything in.
Again, Jaehyung is unphased.
Sporting a black backpack, Jaehyung teases the viewers at the introduction of the video by casually (and rapidly) playing a few notes. It’s as if he’s trying to find the footing that he knows he already has.
Before you know it, Jaehyung’s fingers take off. He plays at such a miraculous pace that if you blink, you’re bound to miss some notes.
Jaehyung could not have picked a better spot. Though he performed during the day, the area is bustling at night as it contains many restaurants, pubs, and bars.
Believe it or not, this beautiful piece would certainly fit in during the night crowds. Jaehyung plays with such intensity and drive. He taps his feet like a drummer and bangs on the keyboards as if his fingers were drumsticks.
Pachelbel’s Canon is an extremely popular piece composed by German Baroque composer, Johann Pachelbel.
Baroque refers to the musical era (approximately between 1600-1750) after the Renaissance era and before the Classical era.
The fascinating thing about Pachelbel’s Canon is that its origins are unknown. It’s estimated that it was composed sometime between 1680 and 1706. The oldest surviving manuscript copy dates back to the 19th century.
For those who aren’t familiar with musical terms, an accompanied canon is “a canon accompanied by one or more additional independent parts that do not imitate the melody.”
A canon is a piece of voices or instruments that “sing or play the same music starting at different times.”
Pachelbel’s Canon is probably the most well-known canon ever written.
You can watch Jaehyung’s rendition of this beautiful song here and listen to Johann Pachelbel’s piece here.
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