350 yr old “Sonata di Chittarra, e Violino, con il suo Basso Continuo” sounds a lot like "Stairway"

[Miles Archer]

http://www.guitarplayer.com/artists/1013/did-this-17th-century-work-influence-stairway-to-heaven/58547

Could a 350-year-old composition bring an end to the “Stairway to Heaven” plagiarism trial?

Attorneys for Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have argued that the distinctive opening guitar passage of “Stairway to Heaven” uses a common progression that has been around for hundreds of years.

In fact, a composition by Italian composer Giovanni Battista Granata uses this same progression—and nearly the same melody heard in “Stairway to Heaven.” The work, “Sonata di Chittarra, e Violino, con il suo Basso Continuo,” was composed in 1659.

The passage, which occurs at the 0:32 mark in the video below, is strikingly similar to the “Stairway to Heaven” intro and has more in common with it than “Taurus,” the 1968 instrumental composition by the group Spirit that Page and Plant are accused of plagiarizing.

[OriginalGeek]

1. well that sounded more like Stairway

than Taurus does. for a few seconds, anyway. That was a cool tune though. Maybe Led Wallet can throw Johnny Granata's ghost a buck or two. Maybe Randy California's ghost can kick in some too.

[Orrex]

2. Yeah, but can ol' Giovanni rhyme "wall" with "sure" with "gold?"