Trois pièces de société, Op. 33

These three Pièces de Société op. 33 by Sor were published in Paris in 1828. With them a new genre enters Sor’s work, one which he had not used before, and one which, indeed, is still seldom approached by guitarists playing Sor’s music: the Pièce de Société. In Sor’s hands, this is an extended piece in two movements: and here, in op. 33, to the lyricism of the shorter pieces is added the stature of sonatas. The first is a Moderato cantabile followed by a catchy Allegretto, a kind of rondo; the second an Andante followed by a waltz; and the third breaks new ground in its combination of forms, being a Sicilienne followed by a March with a trio entirely in harmonics. In each of the three pairs it is made very clear that the first movement leads straight into the second, without a break. The dedicatee of op. 33 was Athénaïs Paulian, who was very much a part of the guitar world at that time. Aguado dedicated his Huit petites pièces, op. 3, to her in 1827; her brother Eugène Paulian was also a composer for the guitar, who dedicated his op. 2, Variations on “Gentil housard”, to Sophie Vautrin, who was later to become Madame François de Fossa; and she herself composed several works for the guitar. Another set of three Pièces de Société is Sor’s op. 36 (also included in this present edition). In No. 1, in the Allegretto which is a rondo, small details are different at the repetitions. They have been left in place here, but players should feel free to alter them (that is, to play them without the small differences) if they wish. No. 2: the repeat mark at the end of the first section (bar 8) is editorial. No. 2, Andante, bar 68, first note: the harmonic is very clearly printed as a 3 on the fourth string in the original edition, but that appears to be a mistake. I have guessed that the 3 was an error for 5 and have altered it accordingly. Another possibility is that it was the third fret which was intended but on the fifth string not the fourth. This edition comes from the new 2019 second edition of Sor’s New Complete Works for Guitar edited by Brian Jeffery. The Introduction and Index to the entire series are here in nkoda. This new edition is copyright © by Brian Jeffery 2019. Your cooperation is requested in not making illegal copies for other people. Brian Jeffery