Image is of my design for the soon to be released my recordings of 2 etudes composed by Fernando Sor. The "Beethoven" of the guitar.
Fernando Sor was a composer and guitarist who lived from 1778-1839. He was born in Barcelona and gained much of his early musical education at the monastery at Monserrat. The time period in which he lived was called the Classical era and contains many composers, which are quite familiar today. Musical figures like Mozart and Beethoven were some of the biggest and well-known contemporaries of Sor.
Sor is one of the few guitarists responsible for the development of modern guitar technique. He is often regarded as the most important figure in the history of the guitar. This is evident in his lasting appeal in both discussions and performances on the classical guitar. Many of his most celebrated works are virtuosic in nature, but it may be his didactic, or instructional works, that are some of the most studied and performed. His etudes, also called studies, have built the backbone of classical guitar instruction and offer a lifetime of enjoyment and learning.
In 1808, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain, Sor began to write nationalistic music for the guitar, often accompanied by patriotic lyrics. Sor was even part of traveling military bands that would play protest music on the streets. He was also promoted to captain in Córdoba and may have fought battles against the French at this time. After the defeat of the Spanish army, however, Sor accepted an administrative post in the occupying government. Here he was to be officially labeled an afrancesado along with the other Spaniards who abandoned their defense of Spain to embrace the French Revolutionary ideas. After the Spanish repelled the French in 1813, Sor and other afrancesados left Spain for fear of retribution. He went to Paris, never to return to his home country again.[6]