Sonata, op. 15b

This sonata in C by Sor, now known as op. 15, consists of a single movement, an allegretto. It is an uncompromising work, developing its ideas to the full and concentrating on musical values rather than on what the guitar can easily do. As a one-movement sonata, it again has affinities with the keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti.

Like the first sonata [opus 14], it was published by Castro in 1810 or shortly before and therefore dates from Sor’s Spanish period. Castro gave it no opus number, and called it “Sonata Seconda”, having called the first sonata [op. 14] “Sonata Prima”. It was also later published by Meissonnier in about 1817-22 with the opus number 15.

The edition of this sonata presented in these New Complete Works for Guitar of Sor is a new text, in which some textual problems of transmission have been studied and dealt with. Here are some details, for those interested, about the way in which this present edition has been established. An examination of the structure of this sonata in its earliest editions shows that the earliest known source, which was published by Castro, already contained what appear to be corruptions in textual transmission, and that the later Meissonnier edition, which has served for most performances and modern editions of this work for the past nearly two hundred years, contains the same corruptions and adds yet more of them. It is hard to believe that the composer had any part in putting out either edition, and especially hard to believe that the Meissonnier one, with its apparent extra corruptions, has any special claim to validity, so in this present edition I have decided to use only the earliest known source, namely the one published by Castro, and not to use the Meissonnier one. Anyone who wishes to consult the Meissonnier version may do so in the Tecla facsimile edition which is available.

The problem in the Castro version is that certain sections have only seven bars where one would expect eight, or six bars where one might expect eight. Perhaps certain bars which were present in Castro’s source (or at an earlier stage) were simply omitted by a copyist. However that may be, in this edition I have added some bars in order to make a version in which those apparently missing parts of the structure are restored. The new edition presented here is a strict edition of the Castro version, to which I have added a total of five hypothetically reconstructed bars. Of course anyone who doesn’t like them can omit them. They are those bars which are numbered 69, 86, 87, 167, and 168 in this edition. For those interested, here is an account of what has been done. In the Castro version the piece begins in normal eight-bar phrases. But then on page 9 of the Castro version (see the Tecla facsimile edition), the section which begins at line 3 last bar and ends at line 5 bar 2 has only seven bars where one would expect eight. This is so unlikely that I have added a hypothetically reconstructed bar (bar 69 in this edition). Anyone who wishes to omit it can simply do so.

A little further down, the section beginning on page 9 line 7 bar 1 has only six bars where one would expect eight. Here I have added two bars (bars 86 and 87 in this edition), which are simply a repeat of bars 84 and 85, in order to make an eight-bar section. The player can omit them if he or she wants. On page 10 of the Castro edition, in line 6 last bar to line 7 bar 3 there are only four bars where one might expect eight. I have made no changes, but the player who wishes to can simply repeat these four bars (bars 121 to 124 in this edition) to give an eight-bar section.

On page 11 of the Castro edition, the section from line 5 bar 1 to line 6 bar 1 has only six bars where one would expect eight. Here I have added two bars (bars 167 and 168 in this edition), which are simply a repeat of bars 165 and 166, in order to make an eight-bar section. The player can omit them if he or she wants.

At the very end of the piece, the last section (from bar 181 on) has ten bars where perhaps there might originally have been twelve. 1 have not made any changes here, but the adventurous player could repeat bars 188 to 189. These features, especially the section which has seven bars, seem to indicate textual corruption either made by Castro’s engraver or else already existing in the manuscript which served as his source.

If one then compares the later Meissonnier edition, one finds all these problems, but in addition there are also yet more problems which are not in Castro. Thus, the Meissonnier edition omits the bars numbered 73 to 76 in this edition [Castro page 9, lines 5-6], which cannot be right. It is hard to imagine that such a change was made by Sor or with his approval. Also, Meissonnier omits four more bars (52-55 in this edition) which are needed to make an eight-bar phrase.

Ever since Sor’s day the Meissonnier version has been the version most used for the performance of this famous piece.

The piece is also found, entitled “Sonata di Sor”, in another publication called Collection de morceaux choisis des meilleurs auteurs espagnols et italiens pour guitare ou lyre, rédigée par un Espagnol, [ler] Cahier, Paris, no name of publisher or date (c.1815?). But this shares the faults of Meissonnier and indeed may have served as Meissonnier’s source.

There is a difference in tempo indication: Castro has Allegretto, but Meissonnier changes it to Allegro moderato.

The double stems on the first notes probably indicate that the notes are to be played on two strings and that the lower string is struck with the thumb.

The diagonal lines through the chords at bars 1, 9, etc., perhaps indicate that those chords are to be played rasgueado.

The repeat sign at bar 88 is from the original edition. The original edition also has another repeat sign at the beginning of bar 89, but this appears to be a mistake and has here been removed.

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