BEETHOVEN : Allegretto from Symphony No7 Op92 arranged by Raymond Burley for 6 guitars :DOz

Beethoven arr. Raymond Burley

Les Productions D’Oz : Score and separate parts : 22, 3,3,3,4,4, and 3 pages respectively

If you had told me that a movement from a Beethoven symphony could be arranged and workable for guitars, I would have reacted negatively! However, I was wrong. Here is a wonderful arrangement of the Allegretto from his 7^th Symphony that works really well without any real compromise. Yes, of course 6 guitars cannot sound as loud or varied as a full orchestra but, that said, this is a great version of a movement that many will immediately know.

The difficulty factor is moderate, but all 6 parts are very much involved in the piece, so no one has an easy ride, so to speak! Set in its original key of Am, very guitar friendly, most of the music is single notes with the occasional pair of notes but very little three notes or more in the parts.

All I can say is that it really does work, and yes, although a few decisions had to be made by Burley on how to actually do some parts of it, he has made the piece sound very successful in its new guise. So whether you are 6 individuals or a larger group, you may really enjoy giving this a try!

Chris Dumigan