Sonata, op. 25

This sonata op. 25 of Sor is another four-movement sonata, like op. 22. Rather confusingly, it is called in the original edition “Deuxième Grande Sonate”; in fact, of course, Sor had composed three sonatas previously; two in a single movement known today as op. 14 and op. 15(b) respectively, and one in four movements, op. 22.

In the second movement, Allegro non troppo, it may be suggested that the repeat of the first part be regarded as optional, as the movement becomes rather long with it.

Op. 25 was first published in Paris in 1827 on Sor’s return from Russia, where it may have been composed. Like the sonata op. 22 it is in C, and again it has four movements: andante largo, allegro non troppo, andantino grazioso (theme and variations), and minuet. But the robust style of the earlier sonatas is missing, and instead we have much attention given to precise and complex harmonics in the second movement, and a rather weak ending with a minuet. This work, surely, is a late one.

In the Theme and Variations, variation 4, bar 74, the flat is editorial. 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.

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