Sor’s Six Divertimentos [op. 1] are a charming set of six short pieces which contrast admirably with each other, making it evident that the set was designed as a whole. Performers would do well to treat it as such and to play it complete. Nos. 1 and 4, both marked “Andante”, are in fact evidently minuets. The set begins, then, with a minuet followed by a waltz in the same key: so do Sor’s other sets of divertimenti, opp. 2, 8, and 13. This minuet and waltz serve to introduce a contrasting piece in a different key, and then the pattern is repeated, with another minuet and waltz and another contrasting piece.
These Six Divertimentos were first published in London in about 1815 by the firm Monzani & Hill. The opus number 1 is not in the first edition but is an artificial number given to the work later by the Parisian publisher Meissonnier, and does not by any means indicate that this is Sor’s earliest composition.
The indication “Andante” in nos. 1, 4 and 5 does not necessarily mean rather slow as it usually does today, but rather “with steady movement” and perhaps rather faster than it would normally be interpreted today. See the article “Andante” in Grove.
Detailed notes about these Six Divertimentos for performers, students, historians, and others, are included at the end of the file.
For details of the various early editions of this work and of all Sor’s compositions, see the bibliography in my book Fernando Sor Composer and Guitarist (London, Tecla Editions). This edition is based on the first issue of the Monzani & Hill London edition. The later Meissonnier and Simrock editions have been compared.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.