Spain has a rich cultural heritage. It is the country that produced two titans in the fields of literature and art: Miguel de Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote,” and the painter Diego Velázquez. When one is listing great composers, though, Spanish ones don’t usually come to mind—except where classical guitar is concerned.
The guitar has long been popular in Spain and South America, so much so that it is virtually the national (or continental) instrument of these places. Not surprisingly, it is Spanish-speaking countries that are responsible for most of the innovations on the guitar. Until the 19th century though, it was used almost exclusively for performing popular songs and dance tunes. Because of these folk associations, guitar music (and Spanish music more generally) was for a long time not very well known in wider Europe.
Fernando Sor helped to change all this. Known as the “Beethoven of the Guitar,” he pushed the boundaries of what was thought to be possible on the instrument, composing works equal in sophistication to those played by bowed instruments like the violin.
A Brief History of the Guitar
To make a guitar, writes author Colin Cooper, “you take a hole and you build a wooden box around it.” Then you stretch some strings across the box, attached to a strip of wood.This humorous statement, of course, simplifies things. The guitar, like all instruments, has a complex history. It first developed as a distinct instrument from the lute around 1500. These early guitars were smaller and had a softer sound than modern ones, with a more rounded shape and shorter neck, and four strings made of gut.
Sor’s Life
Sor’s father was an amateur singer, who took Fernando to see the Italian opera. Though a music enthusiast himself, his father did not want his son to receive explicit musical training, fearing this would interfere with his Latin studies and expected military career. Fernando got around this by composing songs using words from his Latin grammar book. He taught himself guitar and violin, coming to the attention of the head of the orchestra at the Barcelona Cathedral, who began giving him musical instruction. Later when the family moved to Montserrat, young Fernando sung in the boys’ choir there.
As a young man, Sor went back to Barcelona to military school and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant. Because the Spanish military held music in such high regard, his talents as a singer and guitarist helped secure his promotion to lieutenant.
He spent several years traveling around Spain, composing symphonies and string quartets that showed the influences of Mozart and Haydn. Unfortunately, these have not survived. When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain, Sor composed patriotic songs. When Napoleon defeated the Spanish army, the musician accepted an administrative post with the Bonaparte regime. Upon the defeat of the French conqueror, Sor was declared a traitor and forced to flee Spain.
He moved to Paris, then London, where his international music career took off. Up until that time, the English had never heard a true guitar performed. Their “English guitar,” as it was called, was really a cittern. Sor’s popular performances helped spark a vogue for Spanish guitar. John Ebers, who managed the King’s Theatre there, called him “the most perfect guitarist in the world.” In addition, Sor also composed successful ballets and operas.
From London, Sor began traveling to Germany and Russia. A Warsaw newspaper, dated Oct. 23, 1823, recorded a listener’s reaction, calling Sor “an excellent virtuoso,” who “diversifies his playing,” while adding the critical jab that his guitar “does not provide much interest” when only accompanying the voice. (Critics haven’t changed much in their tendency to give qualified praise.)
Method for the Guitar
What made Sor such a great guitarist? A book he published in 1830, “Méthode pour la guitar” (“Method for the Guitar”) explains his secrets. Unlike many textbooks, it is written in a lively prose style. Take Sor’s advice on making full use of the left hand: “There is no reason why the thumb, which plays such an important part in the right hand, should do nothing in the left hand, excepting where nature has given it neither the suitable form nor dimensions for that employment.”
Sor’s emphasis of smooth left-hand fingerings allowed for more fluid playing. For the right hand, he developed arpeggios and novel plucking methods.
Compositions
Sor wrote a number of studies and beginner pieces intended for students that are still taught today. These works of simplicity and elegance, beyond their didactic purpose, are enjoyable to listen to for their own sake. But he also wrote more difficult pieces.
Sor developed cancer and died in 1839. He was buried in Montmartre Cemetery in Paris, with a gravestone bearing the simple inscription, “F Sor.” The grave later vanished from view and was rediscovered a hundred years after his death. His tomb is now appropriately capped with a lovely sculpture of him holding a guitar.
