ayThe Far from Classical Life of Fernando Sor
The guitar was never utilized or fabricated in a way to accommodate to classical music styles until a young boy began to experiment with his own musical curiosities. Born on an ambiguous and much debated date, Fernando Sor lived a life span between his baptism in Barcelona, Spain on the 14th of February 1778 to his death in Paris, France on July 10, 1839. While his full English name is Joseph Fernando Macari Sors, he is known by a couple of different names such as Josep Ferran Sorts i Muntades(Catalan) and José Fernando Macarurio Sors(Spanish). Born as the son of a merchant, his father introduced him to the guitar in which Sor, at the young age of 8, had already developed into a fantastic guitar player. As a young prodigy, his skills “…earned him acceptance into the monastery at Montserrat” (Jeffery Composer and Guitarist 14). Escolania de Montserrat was a choir school at Montserrat monastery in which he attended not only for a musical education, but to further his military career as well. No one would have expected that this young boy would grow to become a Catalan guitar virtuoso acquiring titles as a Catalan Romantic performer, composer, and teacher. Along with these titles, he was one of the first people to play the guitar as a classical concert instrument and wrote one of the earliest books on the methodology of playing the guitar.
Around the age of eighteen, his father had passed away leading to his withdrawal from the monastery. Even though this situation may have seemed to be detrimental towards Sor’s ability and willingness to create music, this age was filled with many different experiences for Sor as he created a “production of his opera “Telemachus on the Calypso’s Isle” performed in Barcelona in 1797 [which] was very successful and led to a patronage in the service of the Duchess of Alba who apparently doted on the young composer” (Daly). He also was enlisted in the Spanish Army upon his exit from the monastery “where he received a commission in the ‘corps de Villa franca’ from General Vives” (Jeffery Composer and Guitarist 15). This position proved to be convenient for Sor as he was able to write many of his first operas and guitar pieces, as well as expand his knowledge and skills on the guitar and piano. In 1808 Sor began to release much more music as the French were invading Spain in coherence to the peak of Napoleon’s reign. Although there may be many debates surrounding the purpose of his compositions, his music exemplifies his patriotism and support for his Spanish army and countrymen. However, following his immense support for the Spanish side, the French ultimately overthrew the Spanish in war leading to his respective switch in alliance to the French government.
Around this time, Napoleon had placed his own brother, Joseph, in power of Spain with the intention that a puppet-like government would eventually lead to the country’s reform. Those who were more progressive and agreed with this ideal thus became French sympathizers known as the “Afrancesados.” Fernando Sor was included among the people that agreed with these modifications and evidently side with the Spanish King, Charles IV. This specific transfer in positions from the Spanish to the French stands as a very controversial issue as many debate as to whether or not Sor stayed loyal to his support for the Spanish despite his transfer, or if he truly disregarded all of his past including his Spanish patriotism. Some state that he maintained his decision to stay a Spanish patriot while others say that “This period of his musical life is very sparse composition wise (Jeffery Composer and Guitarist 43), and may be due to his displeasure of serving under an alien government. Sor did in fact, however, leave Spain never to return again for the rest of his life.
Subsequent to his departure from Spain in 1813, Sor followed the French back to Paris, a place which would be his home for the rest of his life. Paris would also become home to a majority of his operas, symphonies, songs, ballets, and guitar pieces. In 1815, his journey as a performer and composer truly began to blossom along with his move to London until 1823. Sor not only excelled in his ability to create magnificent music, but was also well known and sought for his technical talent on the guitar. This talent landed him immense amounts of performances throughout Europe and Asia. Starting from Paris, “He published 33 Italian ariettas for voice and piano (11 publications with three pieces of music each)” (Blumberg). Then during his stay in London, he released 4 ballets “notably his Cendrillon (Cinderella)” (Blumberg). Following these compositions, “On March 24th 1817 he performed his “Concertante for guitar, violin, viola, and cello” at the Philharmonic Society to great acclaim” (Daly). By 1822, he was recognized as the Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music which stood as a clear representation of his fantastic musicianship. All of these successes guided his ambitions towards the city of Moscow, Russia in November of 1823 where he not only oversaw productions in the Bolshoi Theater but also gained enough high-level recognition to play “for the mother of Tsar Alexander 1st and the Royal family” (Daly). As he had been acknowledged by the royal family, in commemoration of the death of Tsar in 1825, Sor even wrote a funeral march that was performed at his funeral in St. Petersburg.
Around 1826, Sor returned back to Paris to continue in his life-long ambition to create many more arrangements. It is said that Fernando Sor may have been one of the most renowned guitarists during a period called “The First Golden Age of the Guitar”. Although he had created several operas, ballets, and piano pieces, “Sor is best remembered for his guitar studies, and other guitar works. They form an integral part in the study, and performance at concert level, of the guitar” (Thompson Sor). During this Golden Age, the popularity of the guitar was increasing as many other notable composers such as Dionisio Aguando (1784-1849) and Ferdninando Carulli (1770-1841) were also prevalent in France for their guitar compositions. However, Sor was unique from them in the sense that he would write the foundation of the music first before implementing these musical aspects to the guitar. Although composers like Aguando and Carulli focused on the technical aspect of their guitar pieces, Sor produced etudes and estudios that stepped away from technical limitations and instead provided musical fulfillment through various melodic phrases. People compared his ability to create magnificent melodies with that of masters like Beethoven and Schubert, “In fact Sor is considered the “Beethoven” of the guitar in Spain (Sounboard 23). Despite the musical variations, Sor interacted and performed with artists like Aguando, allowing this friendship to inspire the creation of many of his duet pieces.
Sor continued to develop as a composer and shared his ideas, thoughts, and skills through his first published work “Methode Pour la Guitarre” in 1830. This book contained thirty studies for the guitar that “is still considered, in the early 21st century, to be a major contribution to classical guitar studies” (Blumberg). It contained a lifetime of Sor’s complete understanding of all of the techniques and thoughts accompanied with playing the guitar stating that “One must make of one’s fingers well drilled soldiers” (Sor). In the book, he explains everything in regards to playing the guitar in coherence to his own music, starting from posture and hand placement all the way in which one should stroke the guitar.
After his long years of performing in tours around the world, he came to concentrate the release of most of his music during what some may call his “retirement.” Around 1827, he settled back down in Paris and wrote many of his most memorable pieces such as “the ninety-seven different studies, and the “Theme and Variations on Mozart’s the Magic Flute Opus 9” which is probably the most recognized and difficult piece to play written by Sor” (Kozin 28). In order to perform these pieces, one would have to implement the utmost amount of technical and musical expertise. Despite his decision to stay in Paris, he was not idle in regards to performing, as he continued to perform in public frequently. He also was motivated to share his passion with as many people possible as he began to indulge in providing more private lessons and educate many more on the knowledge of the guitar through his publication. As he constantly gave out private lessons, he not only became heavily desired as a teacher, but also incited the rise in the popularity of the guitar.
The last few years of Sor’s life were not pleasant, as it was filled with several tragedies. Both his wife and daughter died suddenly, his daughter in the summer of 1837. These unexpected misfortunes seemed to have in fact affected Sor severely as his last great symphonic masterpiece was written for Mass in memoir of his daughter. This song was filled with many depressing tones as it is said that “Sor himself played excerpts from this mass, on a piano, over his daughter’s grave as a thunderstorm gathered and it began to rain” (Jeffery Composer and Guitarist 110). As if it could not get any worse, Fernando Sor himself would soon fall in defeat by cancer of the tongue causing a painful end to his life on July 8th, 1839. His death left behind a legacy which will never be forgotten and forever ingrained within history as the moment when the guitar and one man’s creativity strummed a change in the course of classical music or eternity.
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