"Cavatina" is a 1970 classical guitar piece by British composer

Stanley Myers Stanley Myers (6 October 19309 November 1993) was an English composer and conductor, who scored over sixty films and television series, working closely with filmmakers Nicolas Roeg, Jerzy Skolimowski and Volker Schlöndorff. He is best known fo ...

written for the film ''

The Walking Stick ''The Walking Stick'' is a 1970 British crime drama film directed by Eric Till and starring David Hemmings and Samantha Eggar. It was based on the 1967 novel of the same title by Winston Graham. " Cavatina" was used as the film's theme, ei ...

'' (1970), and popularised as the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

from ''

The Deer Hunter ''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, ...

'' some eight years later. The Italian musical term ''

cavatina Cavatina is a musical term, originally meaning a short song of simple character, without a second strain or any repetition of the air. It is now frequently applied to any simple, melodious air, as distinguished from brilliant arias or recitatives ...

'' is frequently applied to any simple, melodious

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

History

In this form, it was first used for the film ''

'' (1970), and first released on Williams' 1971 album ''

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

''. In 1973, Cleo Laine wrote lyrics and recorded the song as "He Was Beautiful", accompanied by Williams. After the release of ''The Deer Hunter'' in 1978, Williams' instrumental version became a UK Top 20 hit in 1979. Two other versions also made the Top 20 in the same year: another instrumental recording by

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

, with an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

played by

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...

, released on their album ''

String of Hits ''String of Hits'' is the twelfth studio album by British instrumental (and sometimes vocal) rock group The Shadows, released in 1979 through EMI. Background The album was an attempt to cover recent hit singles in the Shadows' trademark instr ...

'' with the name "Theme from 'The Deer Hunter' (Cavatina)" (number 9 in the UK singles charts and number 1 in The Netherlands); and a vocal version (using Cleo Laine's lyrics) by

Iris Williams Iris Williams OBE (born 20 April 1944) is a Welsh singer. Williams reached the peak of her popularity during the 1980s. Early life and education Williams was born in Rhydyfelin. Brought up in a children's home in Tonyrefail, and later adopted ...

Later recordings

In 1982, guitarist

Liona Boyd Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, (born 11 July 1949) is a classical guitarist often referred to as the First Lady of the Guitar. Music career Early years Boyd was born in London and grew up in Toronto. Her father grew up in Bilbao, Spain, and her ...

included it in her "Best Of" Collection, also with arrangement alongside Eric Robertson and Williams. Angel Romero recorded a version of "Cavatina" on his 1988

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner (recording engineer), Jack Renner and Robert Woods (producer), Robert Woods. ...

release ''A Touch of Class''. Cantabile - the London Quartet recorded a Neil Richardson arrangement with Brass Quintet accompaniment of "She Was Beautiful" for their 1992 album "A Tribute to Hollywood"

Norbert Kraft Norbert Kraft (born 21 August 1950) is a Canadian guitarist, music teacher, producer and arranger. Life Born in Linz, Austria, Kraft's family emigrated to Canada in 1954. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music at Toronto with Carl van Feggel ...

included a version of "Cavatina" on his 1996 Naxos Records release "Guitar Favourites". The tune was recorded in 2004 by trumpeter and flugelhorn player Vaughn Nark on his album ''Panorama: Trumpet Prism'' for Summit Records, featuring Nark on flugelhorn and Rick Whitehead on classical guitar. The tune was recorded by

Paul Potts Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of " Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music ...

on his 2007 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. Another vocal version with different lyrics was recorded by

Vince Hill Vincent Hill (born 16 April 1934) is an English traditional pop music singer and songwriter who is best known for his recording of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune "Edelweiss" (1967), which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart (staying ...

(released on the compilation ''The Ember Records Story Vol. 2 – 1960–1979''). In 2009, the song was the tenth track of Camilla Kerslake's début album '' Camilla Kerslake''. In 2011, the song was recorded by singer

Joe McElderry Joseph McElderry (; born 16 June 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He won the sixth series of the ITV show ''The X Factor'' in 2009. His first single " The Climb" reached number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singl ...

and guitarist Miloš Karadaglić for McElderry's second album, ''

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

''. A full version of Cavatina for solo guitar and symphony orchestra was broadcast by the Faroese Broadcasting Company in 2013. Featuring guitarist Ólavur Jakobsen and Faroe Island Symphony Orchestra. In 2013, the song was recorded by

Mark Vincent Mark Vincent (born 4 September 1993) is an Australian tenor. Vincent won the third season of ''Australia's Got Talent'' in 2009 and signed with Sony Music Australia immediately after. As of 2018, Vincent has released seven studio albums and one ...

for his album '' Songs from the Heart''. In 2016, the song was recorded and released by Japanese guitarist Kaori Muraji on her Decca Records album ''Rhapsody Japan''. Guitarist

Karin Schaupp Karin Schaupp (born 1972) is a German-born Australian classical guitarist. She has won APRA Music Awards and ARIA Music Awards. Early life Karin Schaupp was born in Hofheim am Taunus, Germany, in 1972. Her mother, Isolde Schaupp, was a teacher ...

and baritone

Teddy Tahu Rhodes Teddy Tahu Rhodes (born 30 August 1966) is a New Zealand operatic baritone. Early life Rhodes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 30 August 1966, to a British mother, Joyce, and a New Zealand father, Terrence Tahu Gravenor Rhodes. The Mao ...

recorded "She Was Beautiful" for the ABC Classics album ''I'll Walk Beside You'' (2018).

Other usage

Williams played the piece for the Amnesty International benefit concert, film and soundtrack ''

The Secret Policeman's Ball ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but lat ...

'' in 1979. The piece is played at the end of the '' Battlestar Galactica'' episode "

Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a n ...

" after Kara "Starbuck" Thrace toasts the memory of pilots who had been tragically killed doing what they loved. See also . "Cavatina" was used to accompany "The Gallery" in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

History

Later recordings

Other usage

References

External links