Exploring Stanley Myers' and John Williams' Cavatina

Analysing Stanley Myers' and John Williams' iconic classical guitar piece 'Cavatina', made famous in 1978's 'The Deer Hunter'.
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This is Cavatina, composed by Stanley Myers, arranged and performed by John Williams. Since its composition in 1970, and popularisation in 1978, it has become a staple of classical guitar repertoire and one of the instrument’s most popular pieces. I’ve been uploading videos on this channel for over a year and a half, and in all that time I’ve never actually made anything about my instrument: classical guitar. I did one video about left-handedness and music, which talked about the guitar a lot, but never actually just talked about it. This is mostly because classical guitar lives mostly in its own little world: repertoire is more rarely performed, it’s a particularly idiomatic instrument that’s hard to write for unless you play it, and it’s largely existed in the mediterranean world (especially Spain), often cut off from the classical European powerhouses of Germany, Austria, France, and Russia. Where better to first look at it, then, than Cavatina, as I said, one of the last century’s most iconic works for the instrument. It’s not a particularly complex piece, and this video is pretty small in between some bigger projects, (and make sure to subscribe if you’re interested in seeing those), but it was one of my first favourite pieces when I started classical guitar, so I thought it would be nice to talk about it today.
John Williams, Stanley Myers, Robert de Niro, Michael Cimino, The Deer Hunter, Classical Music, Classical Guitar, Albert Genower, Video Essay, Music Analysis, Music Theory, Music Video Essay
Analysing John Williams' Cavatina
Analysing Stanley Myers' Cavatina
Analysing The Deer Hunter Theme

[@Kilpeck91]

Great piece, Albert!

[@johnharringtonguitar6559]

Great video! At 7:00, I see no3 in parentheses. I was wondering what that refers to?

[@AlbertGenower]

@@johnharringtonguitar6559 There’s no 3rd in the chord (in this case the chord having no A♯)!

[@johnharringtonguitar6559]

I do see an A# as the first note of the measure.

[@AlbertGenower]

@@johnharringtonguitar6559 yeah I’m stupid l read it as C sharp

[@johnharringtonguitar6559]

Oh, OK. Measures 36 through 51 are not in some versions. I’ve been studying those measures. Seems like a simple 3 note melodic motif that is modulated, then changes in the key of E.