"Sor (1778-1839) is one of the great masters of his era." Of course such a radical statement as this requires a radical amount of explanation as well as qualification. Sor's guitar music began appearing inprint as early as 1808 and he continued to compose until his death in 1839. In 1808 Beethoven was soon to embark on his third and final period. By 1839 Schubert and Weber had been dead 11 and 13 years respectively, and Mendelssohn, Schumann, Berlioz and Chopin were well established in their careers. By comparison, Sor is indeed very obscure. Does he belong in such august company? Before answering this let us examine some of the aspects of the guitar, Sor, and his music which pertain to this...