Fernando SOR (1778-1839)
Le Calme
Three Etudes, Op.29: No. 23 in G Major [2:45]; No 13 in B flat Major [5:27];
No. 17 in C Major [3:30]
Morceau de concert, Op. 54: Andante Largo [1:52]; Thème Varié
[11:32]; Allegro [4:27];
Leçon, Op. 31 No. 16 [2:42]; Mazurka, Op 43, No. 4 [5:20]; Waltz, Op.
32, No. 2 [2:25]; Le Calme, Op. 50 [9:18]; Three Studies: Op.60, No. 22 [1:58];
Op. 35, No. 17 [2:55]; Op.35, No.22 [2:58]; Leçon, Op.31, No.23 [2:44]
William Carter (guitar)
rec. 17-19 May 2010, St Martin’s Church, East Woodhay, UK.
LINN CKD 380 [60:10]
Historically informed performance (HIP) has spawned a whole new era of preoccupation
with original scores, authentic instruments and the ways in which the music
may originally have been performed. Though it is only a relatively
recent introduction to the concert platforms of the world, the classical guitar
has not escaped this trend in musical interpretation and performance.
The review disc presents some of the later works by the great Catalan composer/guitarist
Fernando Sor, played by American guitarist William Carter on a copy of a period
instrument. Carter notes the relative lack of interest by the current generation
of concert guitarist in the works of Sor and believes that this, and his previous
recording, represent the only all-Sor recordings to be played in period style
using exclusively the fingertips of the right-hand fingers for plucking the
strings.
Those familiar with the classical guitar will be aware that the modern practice
of using a nail/flesh combination when striking the strings with the right-hand
fingers was refined and championed by Andrés Segovia in the twentieth
century. Providing greater volume, a much wider palette of tonal colours,
and when perfected a beautiful, focused, sonorous sound, is the technique
preferred by the vast majority of modern guitarists.
Mr Carter takes several paragraphs in the liner-notes to explain that Sor
was a dedicatee of the flesh-only right-hand technique of playing the guitar,
and in assessment of his contemporaries felt the use of nails produced an
inferior tone. Other aspects of Sor’s technique presented include parsimonious
use of the ring finger of the right hand which, relative to the others, has
inherent weakness. Sor rarely used the third finger for harmony and forbade
it entirely for melody. When a four-note chord, where the top note formed
part of the melody appeared, Sor admitted that he departed from his own rules.
In his apparent slavish pursuit of authenticity, Mr Carter does not comment
on Sor’s practice of placing the fourth finger of the right hand on
the sound-board of the guitar from time to time. He also confesses that because
of previous training and his anatomy, the third finger is used more extensively,
rather than the second as practised by Sor. We are also left to wonder whether
he uses gut strings on his instruments, as Sor would have, or employs modern
strings. The less informed are also not further assisted in relation to the
instrument played by Carter as the photograph supplied is of a Baroque guitar
not a six-string version as played by Sor.
One has only to listen to some of the masterpieces on this recording to realise
that, particularly harmonically, Fernando Sor wrote some quite exquisite music
for the guitar. Despite this, opinion about the music is varied which may,
in part, explain its current relative absence from today’s concert guitar
scene. Segovia was never ebullient about Sor’s music although he recorded
some of the finer pieces. It is challenging to discern what Tarrega thought
about his fellow-countryman’s music. From available evidence, he never
played any of it in concert; that was not unique to Sor, as Tarrega appears
to have preferred his own compositions or arrangements of popular music of
the day written for other instruments. One unequivocal fact is that Sor wrote
studies for the guitar which combine significant pedagogic content with great
musical beauty.
William Carter was born in Florida U.S.A. and received a thorough training
as a modern guitarist with Bruce Holzman at The Florida State University.
He then fell under the spell of earlier plucked instruments and the world
of historical performance. His initial guidance in that new interest was with
Pat O’Brian in New York City. As a Fulbright scholar he travelled to
London, studying with Nigel North and quickly established himself as one of
the leading players on old instruments.
The performance on this disc adheres to the principles espoused by the player.
It also appears that every effort has been made to eradicate individual traits
of personality in the playing and confine the renditions to strict, academic
guidelines. Despite the extensive information provided about Sor’s approach
to plucking the strings with fingertips only, this reviewer remains unconvinced
of its virtues. Irrespective of the doctrines of HIP, the sound overall is
rather bland and its predictability over the entire CD becomes a little tiresome.
The range of tonal colours is zero and, regardless of the music, little effort
to vary dynamic range is evidenced. This is rather interesting in that Carter
refers to Segovia and Bream as paradigms of excellence in Sor’s music.
He also quotes Rachmaninov’s idea that music is ‘sound and colour’.
The guitar’s relegation to the chamber/salon, and its decline in popularity
during the nineteenth century, were influenced by the techniques pursued on
this disc.
Playing with fingertips only has one other annoying aspect on this recording.
The sound of fingers moving on the bass strings is an accepted characteristic
of the classical guitar and better players are able to control it. In this
instance the sounds of the actual notes are so subdued that every string-squeak
becomes that much more relatively conspicuous and distracting; the background
of much of this recording is a cacophony of string squeaks, particularly evident
on high quality reproducing equipment.
There is every possibility that Sor, hearing his compositions played on a
modern guitar by a virtuoso employing nail/flesh combination, would prefer
that rendition over his own. We have no way of knowing how refined the nail
technique of his contemporary Aguado was, but the attitude of Sor suggest
that Andrés Segovia did much to advance and refine tone production
on the guitar during the twentieth century.
Full credit to Mr Carter for informative and well-written liner-notes. Very
touching is the story included by Don Eusebio Font y Moresco about visiting
Sor in the last days of his life. It may give us greater insight into the
sentiments that engulfed him when he wrote music such as the exquisite Study
No. 14 from the Segovia collection.
Those with a penchant for donning period attire and driving their model T
Ford on Sundays will probably enjoy this recording. Those who embrace the
progress made in guitar design and acknowledge the magnificent legacy of tone
production on the guitar made by Segovia in the twentieth century will probably
classify it as an anachronistic novelty.
Zane Turner
Anachronistic novelty.