His compositions range to more than 250 or 300 works ranging from salon pieces to complete

operas. His best-known major scores were ballets Cendrillon and Gil Blas.

Sor was a contemporary of Beethoven and has sometimes been called the "Beethoven of the
Guitar". He was clearly familiar with the music of the key classical and baroque masters including
Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn and Bach. Like many composers of the day he was also a skilled
performer and therefore promoter of his own music. Also a contemporary of the violinist Paganini,
he likewise demonstrated his virtuosity in concerts across all the countries he visited. His
compositional style build upon the traditions of the recognised masters and adapted them to suit the
guitar, and he demonstrated that that instrument was capable of playing similar types of music to the
piano. His works incorporated a strong sense of both melody and harmony with the ability to play
both melody lines and their accompaniment on the one instrument. His works understood and
adapted existing forms and they also incorporated aspects of counterpoint. Although comparable to
the capabilities of the piano, Sor was able to exploit the strengths of the guitar in terms of its
expressiveness.
Although forever associated with the guitar, Sor also composed for piano, orchestra and voice
including a number of stage works. The body of guitar music which he composed is large and his
role as a teacher has meant that his music satisfies the needs of players of all levels of ability, from
beginner through to expert.
"The creative worth of Sor's guitar sonatas is high. The ideas, which grow out of the instrument yet
stand up well enough apart from it, are fresh and distinctive. the harmony is skillful [sic] and
surprisingly varied, with bold key changes and with rich modulations in the development sections.
The texture is naturally of interest too, with the melody shifted from top to bottom, to middle, and
frequent contrapuntal (two separate melody lines combined) bits added. Among the extended forms,
the first allegro movements still show considerable flexibility in the application of `sonata form',
especially in the larger number of ideas introduced and recalled. For that matter, the style still goes
back to that of Haydn and Boccherini, especially in the first movement of Op. 22, which has all the
neatness of syntax and accompaniment to be found in a classic symphony, and its third and fourth
movements, which could nicely pass as a Minuet and Rondo by Haydn.
Sor's greatest outpouring of music was after what some would call a retirement. Around 1827 he
decided to stop touring the world and spend the rest of his life in Paris (Jeffery Composer and
Guitarist 89-90). It was during this period that Sor wrote most of his memorable music: the ninety
seven different studies, and the "Theme and Variations on Mozart's the Magic Flute Opus 9", which
is probably the most recognized and difficult piece to play written by Sor (Kozin 28). To perform
this piece, the player must have achieved the uppermost levels of technical and musical virtuosity.
It was also during this period that Sor composed, what even today is considered, the most complete
and practical method book for the guitar. In 1830 Sor published "Methode pour la Guitare", which
Grunfeld calls his "... crowning achievement ... the most remarkable book on guitar technique ever
written." In this masterpiece Sor includes feelings on the playing position of both hands, the use of
the right hand fingernails, proper stroke for the right hand, playing position and the correct way to
hold the guitar to maximize control and strength, and minimize tension

1-ROMANTIC (PERIOD) MUSIC (1828-1880/1789-1914)

Classicism is conservatism in creativity with emphasis on balance, control, proportion,

symmetry and restraint. Romanticism is a more radical kind of expression, it seeks out the new, the
curious, and the adventurous. It is characterized by restless seeking and impulsive reaction.
Romantic art differs from classic art by its greater emphasis on the qualities of remoteness and
strangeness. A fundamental trait of Romanticism is boundlessness. Throughout the Romantic
period, the human mind was peculiarly attracted by disproportionate and excessive features. The
tiny piano piece and the brief lyrical song, forms which had been of no consequence during the
Classical period, now assumed the highest significance.
On the other hand, the moderate length of the classical symphony and opera was hugely
extended (Mahler's symphonies, Wagner's operas). As against the classic ideals of order,
equilibrium, control, and perfection within acknowledged limits, Romanticism cherishes freedom of
expression, movement, passion, and endless pursuit of the unattainable (fantasy and imagination); a
search for new subject matters. Because its goal can never be attained, romantic art is haunted by a
spirit of longing. The creations of the romantic artist were emotional in character rather than guided
by structural rules.
The Romantic movement in music coincides with a general Romantic movement in all arts.
At this period, the arts of literature and painting began to influence music. In the Romantic era,
music acquired poetic or philosophical meaning. Antiquity, folklore, history and exotic cultures
were examined as possible sources of inspiration. Romanticism in literature appears to precede the
first signs of Romantic music (for example Goethe [1749-1832] and Wordsworth [1770-1850]). The
romantic movement was fostered especially by a number of German writers and poets. Their
influence on musicians was pervasive and enduring.
Weber and Wagner were attracted by the legends of Northern Europe; Schumann by the
pseudo-philosophic romantic literature of his day; Chopin by his national poet Mickiewicz; Berlioz
by the earlier romantic poet Shakespeare; Liszt by the contemporary French romantic poet
Lamartine and by various French romantic painters, and so on. Thus, a fertilization of music by
poetry, fiction, philosophy and painting took place, and with it was associated a further fertilization
by the spirit of nationalism. Weber, Schumann, Wagner expressing the German spirit; Chopin,
Poland; Liszt, Hungary; Dvorak, Bohemia; Grieg, Norway, and so on.
Romantic traits can be identified in the music of Monteverdi (Poppea), JS Bach (chromatic
organ works, program music) or Handel (expressive arias). It is possible to sense the ground for the
predominant Romanticism of the nineteenth century being prepared from the time in 1740s when
'feeling' came to be consciously valued when the gallant style and its German counterpart
Empfindsamkeit were at its height (especially in the works of CPE Bach).
Another precedent for Romanticism is found in the musical connections with the literary
movement known as Sturm und Drang (dramatic works of Gluck in 1760s and some of Haydn's
symphonies from the early 1770s such as Trauersinfonie and the Farewell). These temporary
movements, however, did not progress to Romanticism. Classicism and Romanticism represent
qualities which co-existed throughout the periods of musical history (1750-1900) [concurrent
tendencies] normally assigned to one or the other.
The change from Classic to Romantic is, in essence, a change of emphasis, not a sudden,
total transformation. Musical Romanticism is more style than language characterized by
Nationalism, Realism, Impressionism, and Expressionism. It remained faithful to tonality and to
metrical periodicity. Emotion became more urgent and intense as form became freer and tone color
richer. Remaining mainly tonal, Romantic music became more chromatic, the melodic structure
remained periodic but phrase structure became less regular. Music became more poetic than
abstract, more melodic than harmonic and more organic than mosaic.
A few general observations may be made about the technical differences between Romantic
and Classic music. In Romantic music, long sections -even an entire movement- may continue as
one unbroken rhythmic pattern, with the monotony and the cumulative effect of an incantation. A
movement of a sonata in the hands of a Romantic composer is a series of picturesque episodes
without any strong bond of formal unity [expressiveness and lyricism above formal structure and
key relationships = in Classical music form and order come first, in Romantic music expressive
content]. A new kind of unity, however, is achieved by using the same theme in different
movements. Romantic music is more lyrical/programmatic than the dramatic/absolute music of the
Classical era.
The massive use of orchestral tone colors is a Romantic trait, i.e., a wide range of
instruments were given solo or combined passages within an orchestral context. The Romantic era
was the golden age of the virtuoso. The emotional range of music was considerably widened, as was
its harmonic vocabulary and the range and number of instruments. The most characteristic
orchestral form is the symphonic poem in which the music tells a story or parallels its emotions.
The most characteristic new genre is the solo song with piano accompaniment (Schubert,
Schumann, Brahms, Wolf).
In the Romantic period, the triadic system was exploited to the farthest consequences,
chromatic alterations were used extensively (see below), unprepared and -towards the end of the
century- unresolved appoggiatura chords were used. Free modulation into distant keys without pivot
chords became a common practice. The increasing boldness of composers in modulating to ever
more distant keys, and in coloring, or altering the notes of their chords more and more together with
the less frequent use of perfect cadences, the strength of a single tonal center became diluted and
tonality started to disintegrate.

Romantic harmony:
Romantic harmony uses diminished seventh frequently. Its ambiguity (lack of a tonal center)
is exploited by Liszt and other composers and it is used extensively for modulation.
The German sixth (the augmented sixth chord on the flattened submediant) is another chord
used frequently. Its resolution is usually onto a 6/4 chord on the dominant (i.e., Ic). It can be used
for modulation too. In C major, the German sixth would be on Ab; this can be used as V7 in Db
resolving to I in Db as a cadence.
The use of higher dissonances, a more innovative treatment of chromatic harmony, and a
greater interest in modal techniques are the other characteristics of Romantic harmony. The use of
chromatic chords without a resolution or cadence may result in 'chromatic frustration' for the
listener.

Chromaticism in the Romantic era:

Romantics used chromaticism more frequently than the Classicists. They followed the same
principles of chromaticism established by the Classic composers but intensified its use. As opposed
to the Classical composers, however, they did not use strong cadential progressions to compensate
for this in keeping the sense of tonality. Together with their tendency to avoid or delay cadential
progressions and replacing perfect cadences with interrupted ones, the tonality started to dissolve.
These two factors were the main reasons for the development of atonality (increased use of
chromaticism, decreased use of cadential progressions). A Romantic composer introduces
chromaticism in following ways:
1. A chromatic chord in a diatonic passage (anchored by two diatonic chords),
2. A chromatic passage in a diatonic context (anchored by diatonic chords),
3. By introducing a short-lived modulation to a remote key which would sound chromatic.

Characteristics of Romantic period:

*New forms: symphonic poem, song cycle, music drama,
*Study of the folk-heritage in music and imitation of folk-like melodic simplicity,
*Predilection for exotic effects through employment of foreign national coloring or the folkloristic
heritage (Chopin, Tchaikovsky, the Russians) [Chopin's more than 50 mazurkas represent one of the
earliest examples of overt nationalistic sentiments in music],
*Break-up of stylistic unity but more individualism,
*Higher interest in melody and color rather than harmony and form,
*Higher dissonances and a freer employment of them,
*A more innovative treatment of chromatic harmony,
*Extensive use of diminished seventh chords,
*Greater interest in modal techniques (flat seventh [common to many modes], flat second
[Phrygian], augmented fourth [Lydian]),
*Assimilation of older elements, especially the revival of polyphony and Baroque forms under the
influence of JS Bach [Mendelssohn, Brahms],
*Thematicism plays a more important role in a sonata movement than tonality,
*Thematic metamorphosis: A programmatic approach to composition often associated thematic
material with a character or idea. Changing circumstances or emotional states were represented by
the transformation of the thematic material (as in Faust Symphony or Symphony Fantastique),
*Cell development technique in nationalist music,
*Use of a cyclic device: Material from one movement recurs in another (a technique related to
thematic metamorphosis, idee fixe and leitmotive) (Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky;
Mendelssohn's Eb string quartet; Beethoven's Symphony No.9),
*Manipulation of sonata form, including mosaic and additive structures. More organic treatment of
the form,
*Postludes in the Lieder (especially by Schumann),
*Unity on a large scale: merging of separate movements into a single span (Liszt's Sonata in B
minor),
*Finishing a minor mode piece in major (from darkness to light): Egmont overture, Symphony No.5
& 9 , Piano Sonatas Opp.90 & 111, and the second act of Fidelio by Beethoven; Schumann's Fourth
Symphony; Franck's Symphony in D minor; Brahms' s First Symphony.

Summary of the features of a Romantic score: Programmatic title, fuller instrumentation,

wealth of dynamic and expression marks, performance directions, constantly changing orchestral
color, use of the tenor registry of the cello, sharing of motives among the instruments, divided
instrumental groups (divisi), frequently varying tempo, remote modulations, frequent use of
diminished sevenths and other atonal implications. In piano pieces: large pitch range, use of pedal,
octave doublings, brace joining