Fernando Sor
Spanish composer Fernando Sor (originally Sors), despite having composed prolifically for various vocal and instrumental ensembles, is remembered
today chiefly as a virtuoso guitarist whose hundred-plus compositions for that instrument constitute a vital part of its concert repertory. While the exact
date of Sor's birth remains unknown, he is known to have been born in Barcelona and baptized on Valentine's Day in the year 1778. Of Catalan ancestry,
Sor attended the choir school at Montserrat monastery and later enrolled in Barcelona's military academy. After the production of his opera T ...read more
Spanish composer Fernando Sor (originally Sors), despite having composed prolifically for various vocal and instrumental ensembles, is remembered
today chiefly as a virtuoso guitarist whose hundred-plus compositions for that instrument constitute a vital part of its concert repertory. While the exact
date of Sor's birth remains unknown, he is known to have been born in Barcelona and baptized on Valentine's Day in the year 1778. Of Catalan ancestry,
Sor attended the choir school at Montserrat monastery and later enrolled in Barcelona's military academy. After the production of his opera Telemaco
nell'isola de Calipso in 1797 he moved to Madrid, where he served in a number of minor administrative positions and continued to compose privately.
During the French invasion of 1808 Sor's military background and patriotism roused him to fight against the invaders, though by 1810 he had resigned
himself to the presence of the new regime; when the French withdrew three years later Sor opted, along with countless other Spanish artists and
intellectuals, to return to Paris with them.
After two years of teaching guitar and performing in various Parisian venues, Sor moved to London and remained there for eight years (1815-1823).
Many of his works were published there, and his thirty-three Italian vocal ariettas (published in groups of three) made a particularly strong impact. Sor
also gained fame after directing his energies toward the ballet; Cendrillon (1822) achieved the most favorable critical and public response and was
successfully transplanted to Paris in 1822. When the Bolshoi theater in Moscow showed an interest in the work for the 1823 season, Sor accompanied the
lead dancers to Moscow. He limited his compositional activities to music for the guitar while staying in Russia, and by the time he returned to Paris in
1826 he had several works for the instrument ready for publication and had completed much of the work on a Méthode pour la guitare, eventually
published in Paris in 1830. Except for occasional trips abroad, such as a journey to London in 1828 to oversee production of a new ballet, Hassan et le
calife, Sor remained in Paris, composing and teaching guitar, until his death in 1839.
Much of Sor's music that has survived (two symphonies, three string quartets and any number of smaller pieces have been lost since his death) has been
abandoned by performers, but his music for the guitar lives on. Much of his reputation is based on the continued use of his Méthode by teachers and
students of classical guitar. Sor's musical style derives largely from an awareness of the late eighteenth century German masters (in particular Haydn);
his guitar music, with its independent voices and occasionally contrapuntal textures, shows a tendency to move away from the largely chordal textures
that had been common up to that point. « hide |
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| LPs |
 | 24 Progressive Lessons, Op. 31 & 6 Little Pieces,
2014
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 | 24 Exercises, Op. 35 / Pieces de Societe, Op. 33
1997
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 | Op. 60, 25 Progressive Studies
1837
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| Op. 63, Remembrances of Russia; duet in E minor
1837
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| Fantasia No. 13, Op. 59, "Fantasia elegiaque"
1836
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| Op. 59, Elegiac Fantasy in E major
1836
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| Op. 58, Easy Fantasy in A minor
1835
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| Op. 54b, Guitar Fantasy; duet
1833
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| Op. 52, Fantaisie villageoise
1832
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| Op. 52 "Rustic" Fantasia
1832
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| Capriccio in E major Le Calme
1832
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| Op. 46, Fantasy in A major, Souvenirs d'amitié
1831
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| Op. 44a, 24 Progressive Studies for Guitar
1831
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| Op. 41, The Two Friends; duet for Guitar
1830
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| Op. 39, 6 Waltzes; Guitar duet
1830
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| Op. 40, Fantasy & Variations on a Scottish Air
1829
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| Divertissement for 2 guitars in G Major, Op. 38
1829
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| Op. 30, Fantasy & Brilliant Variations
1828
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| Op. 31, 24 Progressive Lessons For Beginners
1828
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| 3 Salon Pieces, Op. 33, "Pieces de Societe"
1828
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| Op. 34, The Encouragement; duet in E major
1828
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| Op. 35, 24 Guitar Exercises
1828
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| Op. 29, 12 Studies for Guitar (Second Book)
1827
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| Sonata for guitar in C minor, Op. 25
1827
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| Op. 23, Cinquième Divertissement très facile
1825
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| Op. 21, Guitar Fantasy No. 6 Les Adieux
1825
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| Op. 22, Grand Sonata for Guitar in C major
1825
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| Guitar Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 14 Gran Solo
1822
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| Op. 15b, Sonata in C major
1822
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| Op. 15a, Les Folies d'Espagne and a Minuet
1822
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| Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart
1821
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| Guitar Fantasy No. 4 in C major
1821
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| Guitar Fantasy No. 5
1819
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| Guitar Fantasy No. 3 in F major
1816
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| 12 Studies for Guitar, Op. 6
1815
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| Guitar Fantasy No. 1 in A major
1814
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| Fantasy No. 2 in C minor
1814
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| Sinfonía No. 1 in C Major
1804
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| Sinfonía No. 3 in F Major
1804
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| Sinfonía No. 2 in Eb Major
1804
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| Telemachus on Calypso's Island
1797
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| Compilations |
| The Lost Music of Fernando Sor for Harpolyre
2008
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| Complete Fortepiano Works by Josep Maria Roger
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