136 pp., $29.95, Presser Order number 494-02839 (RTFT-15)
Undertaking
the translation of a guitar method by an author of such monumental importance to
the history of the guitar as Fernando Sor is a daunting task. It is particularly
so when a translation into English was already prepared during the author’s life
time, and is still available today. It is precisely the existence and
availability of the 1832 translation by Arnold Merrick, that is the main
motivation for the present endeavor. A close comparison of the Merrick
translation to the original, reveals a wide-ranging number of instances where
the translator was more intent in translating the words of the author, than in
correctly transmitting the pedagogical thought that these words meant to convey.
The result of this pedantry is that many important precepts of Sor’s philosophy
regarding guitar technique are often distorted in a way that provides English
speaking HIP enthusiasts with a facile apparatus to create a way of playing the
guitar that is different than standard guitar technique, often on the patently
false claim that it is more authentic, but a way of playing that Fernando Sor
would not have recognized as his own. Stylistically, the text attempts to
describe the physical world of the guitar and its technique with a most
poetically inspired florid discourse, often couched with oblique references to
real or imaginary adversaries. Perhaps the most annoying stylistic peculiarity
of the narrative is Sor’s constant usage of the first person singular when
dealing with matters of guitar technique. At the very beginning of this method,
and many times throughout the book, Sor keeps reminding us that his main purpose
is not to tell us what to do, but to tell us how he himself reached whatever
conclusions and principles that he promotes here. However, extending this notion
to the actual descriptive discourse of technique, quickly becomes an overbearing
tedium that is not helpful in understanding the issues involved. My modus
operandi, then, was not to translate the text, but to convey Sor’s approach to
the pedagogy of the guitar in a clear language that would make immediate sense
to English readers today. Obviously, such methodology requires an interpretative
examination of every single sentence in the book, attempting to glean from it
the wisdom that the teacher Sor would have imparted to his students during their
private lessons with him. Necessarily, much of my work required detailed
explanations of the reasons for my editorial decisions. Since the original text
contains a fair number of footnotes, often quite extensive, I chose to place my
comments in a separate Commentary section, leaving the main text uncluttered and
free of interventions, except of course, the rare instances where a short square
bracketed comment can save a great deal of verbosity. All commentaries are
referred to in the main text in alphabetical End Note cross references. I am
acutely aware of the maxim that Time Mutes, The Translator Mutilates, and I am
sure it could be argued that I greatly mutilated the original text. I fully
agree, as it was my intention from the very beginning to do so. However, I have
attempted to convey as clearly as possible, what Sor would have explained to me
privately, had I been fortunate enough to have him as my teacher.
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