Morceau de concert, op. 54

This Morceau de Concert op. 54 by Sor was first published in Paris in 1832 or 1833 and was dedicated by Sor to Princess Adélaïde, sister of the king Louis-Philippe. The form of the piece, like that of L’Encouragement (op. 34) or Les Deux Amis (op. 41), is, once again, an introduction, theme with variations and coda, and a fast dance, here an Allegro in waltz time. It is a major work. The Revue Musicale reviewed it in 1833-34, and although the review is unsigned, we may guess that it was written by Fétis. Fétis did not like the guitar; but even he was obliged to acknowledge the quality of this Morceau de Concert: Tout le monde sait que M. Sor a étendu le domaine de la guitare, et qu’il a rendu cet instrument à sa destination naturelle en le faisant un instrument d’harmonie. Profond musicien, doué de beaucoup de goût et de la persévérance nécessaire, possédant enfin le plus beau talent d’exécution, Sor a écrit pour la guitare comme personne n’avait écrit avant lui et comme fort peu d’artistes pourront écrire en le prenant pour modèle; mais dans aucune de ses compositions on ne trouve peut-être de qualités aussi remarquables que dans le morceau que nous annonçons. Une introduction large, et, qu’on nous passe le terme, vigoureuse comme pourrait l’être un morceau écrit pour l’orchestre, sert d’entrée à un thème d’une rare élégance écrit avec autant de pureté qu’on pourrait le faire dans de la musique pour le piano. Puis viennent des variations tantôt gracieuses, tantôt brillantes et toujours remplies de ce goût d’harmonie qu’on retrouve dans toutes les compositions de M. Sor, et qu’on ne trouve que là. Il est beau d’agrandir ainsi l’objet de ses études et de ses travaux, et de se placer au-dessus de ce qu’on fait par la puissance de son talent. (‘Everyone knows that M. Sor has extended the domain of the guitar, and that he has guided that instrument to its natural destination in making it an instrument of harmony. A profound musician, gifted with much taste and with the necessary perseverance, and possessing the finest talent in performance, M. or has written for the guitar as no-one had written before him and as very few composers will be able to write if they take him as a model; but perhaps in none of his compositions does one find such remarkable qualities as in the piece which we are discussing. An introduction, broad and, if we may so, as vigorous as it might be if it were written for orchestra, serves to introduce a theme of rare elegance written with as much purity as one could achieve in piano music. Then come variations, sometimes graceful, sometimes brilliant, and always filled with that taste for harmony which one finds in all M. Sor’s compositions and only there. It is a beautiful thing to enlarge the object of one’s studies and of one’s work, and by the strength of one’s talent to elevate oneself above what one is doing.’) In Variation 2, bars 36 and 37, the original has a turn which is obviously a misprint for a rest and is here corrected. In Variation 6, bar 101, first chord, lowest note, the original has B but it may be suggested that it could be played as A, and is here altered to A. In bar 126, in the penultimate chord, the E is probably intended to be played as an open string. Similarly, in bars 128 and 132 the B is probably intended to be played as an open string. The notation of the beginnings and ends of each variation in the original is irregular and has here been regularised. 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