Fernando Sor (born José Fernando Macario Sors) is probably the most important guitarist and composer that Spain produced during the Classical Period. He was born in 1778 in Barcelona and in 1796 he already had produced his first opera "Telemaco". The prodigious composer made a career as a musician, professor and composer in Paris along with the Carcassi and Aguado during the beginning of the 19th century. Fernando Sor was not only learned to play guitar, but he was also a great singer and pianist, and that is clearly evident in his compositions. By listening some of his masterpieces we can experience the music composed for other instruments with just one guitar, which is remarkable.
In his Op. 31, which comprises 24 small pieces (or studies, if you will) that present a unique beauty and simplicity, Sor presents various styles the explore an intermediate leveled technique. These pieces are meant to teach the enthusiast student to learn phrasing, polyphony, accompaniment, the singing and to master the vast myriad of "guitaristic" features employed, such us chords, arpeggios, accompanied melodies, scales, dynamics and articulation, to name a few.
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Below you can watch a mini-documentary about Fernando Sor and his music, in which I address a very popular question among guitarists Why is Fernando Sor called 'Beethoven of the Guitar'?
