Sor, Fernando (1778, 1839)

Fernando Sor (1778-1839) was a Spanish guitarist and composer, born in Barcelona. He is known sometimes as the 'Beethoven of the Guitar' in Spain.

Born to a fairly well-off family, Sor was descended from a long line of soldiers, and intented to continue that legacy, but was distracted by this when his father introduced him to Italian opera. He fell in love with music and abandoned a military career. Along with opera, Sor's father also introduced him to the guitar, which, at the time, was little more than an instrument played in taverns, thought to be inferior to orchestral instruments.

Sor studied music at a monastery on the slopes of Montserrat, a mountain near Barcelona. It was here that he began to write his first pieces of music for the guitar.

In 1808, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain, he began to write nationalistic music for the guitar, often accompanied by patriotic lyrics. After the defeat of the Spanish army, Sor accepted an administrative post in the occupying government. After the Spanish repelled the French in 1813, Sor and many other artists and aristocrats who had befriended the French left Spain for fear of retribution. He went to Paris, and never returned to his home country again.

He began to gain renown in the Parisian art community for his skills of composition and for his guitar playing ability, and eventually began to tour across Europe, gaining considerable fame. In 1827, due partly to his advancing age, he settled down and decided to live out the rest of his life in Paris. It was during this retirement that he composed many of his better works.

His last work was a mass in honour of his daughter, who died in 1837. Her death sent the already sickly Sor into serious depression, and he died a miserable man in 1839.