Fernando Sor – Deux thèmes variés et douze menuets op. 11 for solo guitar

Sor’s Deux thèmes variés et douze menuets op. 11 are something of a miscellaneous collection and first appeared in Paris in 1822 or shortly before.

The twelve minuets are in an unusual style, with their abrupt changes of register, their sudden running passages, and their scordaturas. They are among the finest of Sor’s miniatures and have deservedly kept their popularity over many years. Some are certainly from Sor’s Spanish period, and it is quite possible that they all are: see Chapter 1 of my book Fernando Sor, Composer and Guitarist.

See the FIRST PART FREE.

The theme of the first set of variations is almost the same as that of a “Thème varié” which Meissonnier published separately with a different arrangement of variations and to which he gave the numbering op. 15 (it is 15c in this edition). Minuet no. 12 was also published as op. 13 no. 4.

You can hear minuet no. 6 played by Paul Bizot here.

This edition comes from the new 2020 second edition of Sor’s New Complete Works for Guitar edited by Brian Jeffery. The Introduction and Index to the entire series can be seen here on this site.