Cavatina (song)

Cavatina (song)

"Cavatina" is a classical guitar piece by Stanley Myers and is most famous as the theme from "The Deer Hunter".

The piece had been recorded by classical guitarist John Williams, long before the film that made it famous. It had originally been written for piano but at Williams' invitation, Myers re-wrote it for guitar and expanded it. After this transformation, it was first used for the film, "The Walking Stick" (1970). In 1973, Cleo Laine wrote lyrics and recorded the song "He Was Beautiful" accompanied by John Williams.

Following the release of "The Deer Hunter" in 1979, Williams' instrumental version of "Cavatina" became a UK Top 20 hit. Two other versions also made the Top 20 the same year - another instrumental recording by The Shadows, with an electric guitar played by Hank Marvin (#9 in the UK singles charts); and a vocal version (using Cleo Laine's lyrics) by Iris Williams.

The song was also recorded by Paul Potts on his debut album, "One Chance".There is a gospel version set to Cavatina called "Beautiful" the author is Billy Evmur and it appears in the "Dove On A Distant Oak Tree" collection

Trivia

This piece of music is also played at the end of the "Battlestar Galactica episode "Scar" after Kara "Starbuck" Thrace toasts the memory of dead pilots. See also Music of Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining). Cavatina was also used to accompany "The Gallery" in the popular UK children's art programme Take Hart in the mid-1970s.

It has a reputation as a staple of buskers, despite its relatively high technical demands. The frequent transitions from one barre chord to another throughout the song make it difficult to sustain the melody and keep it legato.

External links

* [http://www.fullscores.com/other/cavatina_john_williams/download.php Cavatina free sheet music download]


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  • Cavatina — (Italian diminutive of cavata , the producing of tone from an instrument, plural cavatine ) is a musical term, originally a short song of simple character, without a second strain or any repetition of the air. It is now frequently applied to a… …   Wikipedia

  • Cavatina — Ca va*ti na, n. [It.] (Mus.) Originally, a melody of simpler form than the aria; a song without a second part and a da capo; a term now variously and vaguely used. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cavatina — [kav΄ə tē′nə; ] It [ kä΄vä tē′nä] n. [It, dim. of cavata, artful production of sound < cavare, to dig out, extract < L, to excavate < cavus: see CAVE] 1. a short, simple solo song or melody that is usually part of a larger composition,… …   English World dictionary

  • cavatina — /kav euh tee neuh/; It. /kah vah tee nah/, n., pl. cavatine / nay/; It. / ne/. Music. a simple song or melody, properly one without a second part or a repeat; an air. [1830 40; < It, equiv. to cavat(a) song (lit., something drawn out, n. use of… …   Universalium

  • song — Synonyms and related words: Brautlied, Christmas carol, English sonnet, Horatian ode, Italian sonnet, Kunstlied, Liebeslied, Petrarchan sonnet, Pindaric ode, Sapphic ode, Shakespearean sonnet, Volkslied, ado, air, alba, anacreontic, anthem, aria …   Moby Thesaurus

  • song — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. lyric, ballad, popular song; aria, chanson, cavatina; carol, lilt, madrigal, glee, ditty; minstrelsy, poem, chanty, lay, birdsong, folksong, spiritual, etc. See music, poetry. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn.… …   English dictionary for students

  • cavatina — noun a) an operatic song in slow tempo, either complete in itself or (e.g., in Bellini and Verdi) followed by a faster, more resolute section: hence b) a rather slow, song like instrumental movement; the title …   Wiktionary

  • cavatina —    (kah vah TEE nah) [Italian: little thing drawn out] A short song, usually composed on a single sentence without repeats …   Dictionary of foreign words and phrases

  • cavatina — /kævəˈtinə/ (say kavuh teenuh) noun (plural cavatinas or cavatine /kævəˈtineɪ/ (say kavuh teenay)) a simple song or melody, properly one without a second part and a repeat; an air. {Italian} …  

  • cavatina —   n. simple song or melody …   Dictionary of difficult words

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