The beautifully melodic “Cavatina” was made famous by John Williams, who arranged the piece for solo guitar and produced some effortless recordings of it. Audiences equate effortless with easy, but it can be a bit of a beast to play well.
Why this arrangement?
- I’ve lowered the key by a semitone which makes many of the chords sound more mellow
- I’ve fixed the ungainly jumps in the bass line which came as a constraint of playing up the neck on solo guitar
- I’ve improved the connectivity of the middle voices from chord to chord so the chord changes sound more effortless and natural
- By virtue of the key change and careful use of enharmonic equivalents, the guitar part is now on familiar ground - it requires a Capo on fret 1
- A side effect is that everything is easier and the sustain seems more effortless
I have produced other arrangements too...
- Cavatina for 2 guitars - the roles of tune and accompaniment swap seamlessly halfway through
- Cavatina duet for student & teacher - the student part is early intermediate level
- Cavatina for flute & guitar
Click see/hear/buy (on the right)Tap see/hear/buy below for sample score & audio
Cavatina
for Bb Clarinet & Guitar
$4.99 Intermediate level
See also Guitar duet versions