Partly because Sor was himself such a classical guitar virtuoso—contemporaries considered him to be the best in the world[1]—he made a point of writing didactic music for players of that instrument of all levels.

[2] On the other hand, some of Sor's music, not least his popular Introduction and Variations on Mozart's "Das klinget so herrlich" Op.

[13] Sor was descended from a long line of career soldiers and intended to continue that legacy, but was distracted from this when his father introduced him to Italian opera.

At a young age, Sor's parents wouldn't give his musical abilities too much special attention, for fear it would distract from his Latin studies.

When he reached the age of 11 or 12, the head of the Barcelona Cathedral took notice of young Sor's talent, and he was enrolled in the school there.

Sor reveals in writings, mainly from the last ten years of his life, that he was greatly attached to this place, and had fond, nostalgic memories of his childhood there.

[6][14] In 1808, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain, Sor began to write nationalistic music for the guitar, often accompanied by patriotic lyrics.

Here he was to be officially labeled an afrancesado along with the other Spaniards who abandoned their defense of Spain to embrace the French Revolutionary ideas.

[6] Having abandoned his family's ideal of a military or administrative post, Sor could finally give music a serious try in France.

[6] In 1827, partly due to his advancing age, he settled down and decided to live out the rest of his life back in Paris.

[6][17] François-Joseph Fétis has called him "le Beethoven de la guitare",[18] though he has also remarked that Sor had failed to produce a good tone[citation needed] on one occasion.

The harmony is skillful and surprisingly varied, with bold key changes and with rich modulations in the development sections.

The texture is naturally of interest too, with the melody shifted from top to bottom, to middle, and frequent contrapuntal bits added.

22, which has all the neatness of syntax and accompaniment to be found in a classic symphony, and its third and fourth movements, which could nicely pass as a Minuet and Rondo by Haydn."

(p.1) (...) "The present article examines the formal and stylistic procedures employed by Sor in his guitar sonatas, determining appropriate models for these works and placing them in a likely chronological context.

This examination affords a telling glimpse of Sor at two very different stages of his career: as a young composer in Spain emulating the imported cosmopolitan high-classical style of the Italian opera overture and Austro-French symphony; and as an established post-classicist exercising a personal aesthetic and a confident, individual approach to formal construction."

(It never ceases to amaze me how so many modern guitarists and musicologists [...] don't even consider the wealth of material and instruction from Sor's era which cries out that this music is meant to be expressed with such devices as dynamics, tone color, portamento, chordal arpeggiation [...].

These same modern guitarists with the conspiratorial support of supposedly enlightened musicologists will often perform this music, sometimes on a "period" guitar, and use practically none of the above-mentioned expressive devices.)"

The resulting body of instructional studies he produced is not only noteworthy for its value to students of the guitar, but for its inherent musicality.

Sor undoubtedly played guitars by Pierre René Lacôte, mentioning: "M. Lacote, a French maker, the only person who, besides his talents, has proved to me that he possesses the quality of not being inflexible to reasoning".

[24] Some guitars of Lacôte show Sor's signature: "Fernando Sor, the Catalan man was out of his mind in Paris has signed a number of guitars by René Lacôte – examples now survive in the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments, cat.

In his method, Sor mentions: "[...] if I wanted an instrument, I would procure it from M. Joseph Martinez of Malaga, or from M. Lacote [...]The guitars to which I have always given the preference are those of Alonzo of Madrid, Pagès and Benediz of Cadiz, Joseph and Manuel Martinez of Malaga, or Rada, successor and scholar of the latter, and those of M. Lacote of Paris.