Simply put, a canon is a musical form wherein a single voice begins singing a melody and is subsequently joined by a second or more voices singing the same melody, either in the same key ("at the unison") or transposed by some interval (e.g., "at the fifth"). The voices "fit" together in that, even though they aren't sung in sync, they produce no unresolved dissonances. A famous example is Row, row, row your boat, which is a unison canon:
Another is Frère Jacques. But there are many examples. You can read more about canons on Wikipedia.
Stephen Malinowski, the inventor of the Music Animation Machine (or MAM), had the insight, one Christmas season almost two decades ago, that the familiar tune White Christmas works as a canon at the fifth.
Though more common, such a discovery is akin to finding a particularly satisfying palindrome or a four leaf clover. In other words, a wonderful serendipity. Here, Mr. Malinowski presents his canon with a specially composed bass line, synthesized voices, and animation generated by the MAM. Enjoy!
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