Editing Johann Pachelbel (section)

===1653–1674: Early youth and education (Nuremberg, Altdorf, Regensburg)===
[[File:Die Türme der Pfarrkirche St. Sebald.jpg|thumb|[[St. Sebaldus Church, Nuremberg]], which played an important role in Pachelbel's life]]

Johann Pachelbel was born in 1653 in [[Nuremberg]] into a middle-class family, son of [[Johann (Hans) Pachelbel]] (born 1613 in [[Wunsiedel]], Germany), a wine dealer,<ref>{{harvnb|Welter|1998|loc=9}}. See also article "Johann Pachelbel" in ''[[Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart]]''. Pachelbel's baptism record with his father's and mother's names is also provided in Welter.</ref> and his second wife Anna (Anne) Maria Mair. The exact date of Johann's birth is unknown, but he was [[Baptism|baptized]] on 1 September.{{sfn|Nolte|2001|loc="Introduction"}} Among his many siblings was an older brother, Johann Matthäus (1644–1710), who served as Kantor in [[Feuchtwangen]], near Nuremberg.<ref>Hewlett, Walter B. 1978. ''The Musicalische Sterbens-Gedancken of Johann Pachelbel: its historical background, analysis and performance'', p. 61.</ref>

During his early youth, Pachelbel received musical training from [[Heinrich Schwemmer]],  who later became the [[Cantor (church)|cantor]] of [[St. Sebaldus Church]] (''Sebalduskirche''). Some sources indicate that Pachelbel also studied with [[Georg Caspar Wecker]], organist of the same church and an important composer of the Nuremberg school, but this is now considered unlikely.{{sfn|Welter|1998|loc=page 55, note 64}}{{refn|See also Johann Mattheson's Pulpit Obituary of 1740, where Mattheson specifically addresses this claim and gives reasons as to why it is not true. Walther's biography, published in 1732, is the only source to state that Pachelbel studied with Wecker; there is no direct evidence for that.|group=n}} In any case, both Wecker and Schwemmer were trained by [[Johann Erasmus Kindermann]], one of the founders of the Nuremberg musical tradition, who had been at one time a pupil of [[Johann Staden]].

[[Johann Mattheson]], whose ''Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte'' (Hamburg, 1740) is one of the most important sources of information about Pachelbel's life, mentions that the young Pachelbel demonstrated exceptional musical and academic abilities. He received his primary education in St. Lorenz Hauptschule and the ''Auditorio Aegediano'' in Nuremberg, then on 29 June 1669, he became a student at the [[University of Altdorf]], where he was also appointed organist of St. Lorenz church the same year. Financial difficulties forced Pachelbel to leave the university after less than a year. In order to complete his studies, he became a scholarship student, in 1670, at the ''Gymnasium Poeticum'' at [[Regensburg]]. The school authorities were so impressed by Pachelbel's academic qualifications that he was admitted above the school's normal quota.

Pachelbel was also permitted to study music outside the Gymnasium. His teacher was Kaspar (''Caspar'') Prentz, once a student of [[Johann Caspar Kerll]]. Since the latter was greatly influenced by Italian composers such as [[Giacomo Carissimi]], it is likely through Prentz that Pachelbel started developing an interest in contemporary Italian music, and Catholic church music in general.