Fernando Sor Brings Life To The Guitar

The life Fernando Sor led was certainly not the one he had intended on pursuing. Descending form a long line of career soldiers, it was in his blood to continue this legacy. However, thanks to his father we were able to experience and live the remarkable Italian opera that he produced over the course of his lifetime.

Josep Ferran Sorts I Muntades was born on February 14, 1778 to a family that was certainly not struggling to say the least. Despite the family history of soldiers, his father had other plans for the young man. He wanted Fernando to live the life of opera and grow to love the beauty behind it.

This was not the only musical side that was introduced to Fernando. His father also taught him the guitar, which was not nearly as recognizable as orchestral instruments at the time. The guitar was an instrument that was heard nowhere outside of taverns; that is until Fernando redefined it.

After falling in love with music shortly after his father introduced him to it, Fernando began studying music at a monastery on the slopes Montserrat. This was a mountain near Barcelona. Unfortunately, after his father died his mother could not finance his studies and was forced to withdraw him. However, this monastery was the beginning of a long career for the young man.

As with any other musician, he took personal experiences and real life happenings and inserted them into compositions. When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain in 1808, he began changed the way music was heard with his nationalistic music on the guitar. Often times he added onto this music with patriotic lyrics that were profound and heartfelt.

After defeating the Spanish army, F. Sor turned to the government where he took an administrative post. A changing point in his life happened when the Spanish repelled the French in 1813. Many artists and aristocrats had already befriended the French. Naturally, all of the artists including Sor fled fearing retribution from Spain. Upon arriving in Paris, he never returned to his home country.

This move proved to be quite beneficial for F. Sor as he quickly made a name for himself thanks to his impeccable skills of composition. His ability to play the guitar like no one else led to his touring across Europe where things really began to pick up. By 1827, he decided to take a step back and calm down where he settled in Paris.

While many feared this was the end of a career from an incredible artist, this retirement period actually proved to be a remarkable time for Fernando. This is the time where many of his most recognized and acclaimed pieces of work were composed.

Although he is best known for numerous guitar compositions, he also composed music for opera and ballet throughout his lifespan. Some of his guitar pieces included Variations on a Theme of Mozart and a praised ballet piece titled Cendrillon. He gave several concerts throughout Europe pleasing crowds in the likes of England, Paris, Berlin and Warsaw.

Many considered him to be the best guitarist in the world at the time considering what the guitar was. Because of his skills and what he did with the instrument, he truly evolved and transpired what the instrument would become today.

His last work was a mass honoring his daughter following her death in 1837. She meant the world to Fernando which slowly led to his demise. Despite already being sickly, the serious depression took toll on Sor as he died in 1939 from tongue and throat cancer.

There is no question his compositions had an impact on the Classical music world. Many of his works for guitar have been and continue to be widely played and reprinted today.

His Methode pour la guitarre, which was published in 1830, continues to be one of the most important books on guitar technique. On top of that, he wrote a number of boleros and seguidillas for voices and guitar. If that were not enough, he wrote numerous songs in Spanish, Italian and English while composing duets for voice and piano.

His stage music inspired many with acts like his opera Telemaco nell’isola de Calipso being staged in Barcelona in 1797. Between the guitar, vocal music, and stage music, Fernando made sure he left it all out on the stage while leading an incredible career. This is precisely why he has made such an impact on the music world and will be forever remembered for the contributions he made to the development of the guitar.