Sor Op 21 Les Adieux

December 28, 2021

Here is a read-through of the piece. It's a bit long, so I understand if you'd rather do something (anything) else than watch it all, as my playing is not too good yet.

Structural Analysis

This is a fantasia, so the structure is a bit looser than most of Sor's works. That said, there are some pretty clear sectional divisions. Here's my breakdown:

A.      Andante Largo mm 1-21 slow, brooding, E minor

B.      Andante mm 22-68

     1.       mm 22-43 stately with a clear pulse, G major

     2.      mm 44-54 sparse texture leading into E minor

     3.       mm 55-68 E minor with a strong dotted rhythm pulse

C.      Un poco mosso / Allegretto mm 69-121

     1.       mm 69-78 driving rhythm in E minor

     2.       mm 79-86 singing melodic material in G major

     3.       mm 87-98 driving 16th notes in G major

     4.       mm 98-109 still driving 16th notes but more melodic, transitioning to E minor

     5.       mm 110-121 building to final cadence in E minor

This breakdown will now allow me to practice the piece in sections.

Measures 1-21 Andante Largo (December 29, 2021)

This is a rather somber introduction to the piece. Nothing too tricky here. It starts out with block chords and stark dynamic contrasts. Next there is a beautiful melody to make sing over the accompaniment. Then there is a buildup to the G major tonality using an open D pedal point.

Measures 44-54 (December 30, 2021)

Like the opening measures, this section is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts (f-p-f-p etc.). Nothing too challenging here, although the voicing of the high C major in measures 51 and 52 is a bit of a stretch.

Measures 55-68 (December 30, 2021)

This section is more challenging for me. In the left hand, the voicing of the B7 (first inversion) in measures 56 and 60 is pretty difficult. I was tempted to simplify it by removing the F#, but I resisted!

The bigger challenge for me was the right hand and getting the repeated dotted-rhythm figure to sound smooth and consistent. I tried several different fingerings, and to my surprise, I settled on playing the repeated figure by alternating a-m. This is not exactly my strongest alternation, but ended up working much better than other possibilities.

Measures 1-68 (January 25, 2022)

I took a bit of a break from this piece while doing the Transcription Challenge. But now that is wrapping up, so I want to come back to this. Here is a recap of the sections I have worked on thus far. I messed up the right hand fingering on the last bit, but so be it.

Now, on to the most challenging part of this long piece (Un Poco Mosso, measures 69-121).