Fernando Sor – Six petites pièces (later called op. 5) – pdf

Sor’s Six petites pièces [op. 5] is a set of six charming pieces first published in Paris in 1814. They are:

1. Minuet
2. Waltz
3. Minuet
4. Allegro
5. Andante largo
6. [Waltz]

Sor had just arrived in Paris from Spain in the year before, 1813. The set is dedicated to Sor’s wife Joaquina who was with Sor in Paris at that time.

The set includes the famous “Andante largo”. Andante at that period meant “keep the tempo steady” and did not necessarily mean slow as it often does today, so this Andante largo should not be played too slowly. “Largo, with a steady pace” would be a good interpretation. The other pieces in these Six petites pièces are well worth playing.

You can hear the Andante largo played by the famous Argentinian guitarist María Luisa Anido here.

This edition comes from Sor’s New Complete Works for Guitar edited by Brian Jeffery.

This present edition is the entire op. 5 consisting of six pieces, presented as a pdf.

Sor and his wife Joaquina

The set is dedicated to Sor’s wife Joaquina Aviñó. We now know through recent research that Sor and Joaquina were married in 1813 in an annex to Granada Cathedral, on their way to exile in France. When they arrived in Paris one of the first things that Sor did was to publish this set of pieces dedicated to Joaquina.