Chirstmas 2016. I was quite proud of this performance, not because it's flawless (I wish it was), but because it marked a new chapter in my guitar playing. This is in fact, my first complete "suite" (tác phẩm lớn) that I was able to play. Before then, I only played small-scale pieces, mostly by Tarrega or at most Sor, but not any pieces that are longer than 10 minutes. Also, it marked my new level of sight-reading, which is a tremendous achievement for me, since I suck at sight-reading, a lot.
Heitor Villa-Lobos is considered one of the most prominent Brazilian guitar composers of the 20th century, and he barely played any guitar (!). Five Preludes is probably one of his most significant work, and the first prelude being the most famous of all. I can easily rank the popularity of these preludes in the decreasing order: 1 > 5 > 3 = 2 > 4.
Prelude 1 written in E minor, with dominant bass notes throughout the piece, which closely resemble the sound of a cello, as a reminescence of the instrument that he truly dear. Prelude 2, in E major, with bright and shiny melodies depicts the marketplace in Rio. Prelude No.3 is dedicated to J. S. Bach, with melodical contour similar to Fuga from BWV 565. Prelude 4 is a slow, melancholic piece comtemplating the Indian-Brazilian. Last but certainly not least, Prelude 5 uses several Chopin references, completing the collection. Technically speaking, there are no novel guitar techniques, rather the sound of the guitar is adequately balanced and flavorful.
One thing that surprised me was the speculation of the Sixth Prelude. The existence of the Prelude was mentioned in a letter Segovia sent to Ponce about Seis Preludios, potentially referring to this work by H. Villa-Lobos.