C 9618 FERNANDO SOR: THE FORTEPIANO WORKS [11,99 Euro]

Composed during Fernando Sor's stay in London (1815-1823), this charming ballroom dance music was extremely popular then: waltzes, quadrilles and a mazurka for the fortepiano. A delicate music in which it is vital to pay attention to the Romantic phrasing, to the care for the detail, and to musical gesture.

Josep Maria Roger (also author of the performing editions of the music) is one of the most important fortepiano specialists He performs with an exquisite taste and outstanding technique. This CD was recorded in real time, with no additional editing. Roger uses for this recording a fortepiano built by Paul McNulty in 1994, after a model by Anton Walter dated 1795. This instrument has a wonderful sound, clear and powerful, very far from the feeble sound sometimes associated with fortepianos. As Colin Lawson points out in his notes, the instrument "has the potential for colour and subtle articulation which allows every nuance and inflection of the music to contribute to an overall effect which is never less than truly magical".

Though best known as a guitar composer, Fernando Sor (1778-1839) left some delightful dance music for the fortepiano. Sor is a most delicate composer, extraordinarily gifted for melody. He also composed orchestral and ballet music, but in his solo pages it is found the essence of his personal and unique language.