Album: Fernando Sor, Early Works/ William Carter (Linn)

Fernando Sor (1778-1839) knew how he wanted his music to sound. Yet if you've heard anything by the Catalan guitar virtuoso, it's likely to have been played with fingernails.

In these charming menuets and studies, some written in the early days of Sor's French exile, William Carter follows the composer's directions, playing with his fingerpads. The sound is intimate and nostalgic, even in the Opus 14 Grand Solo, with the closing harmonics of the Opus 3 Menuet in G acting as a chaste farewell kiss.