Villa Lobos, Heitor - Preludes - Polishing & Learning

The Preludes by HVL are significantly more beautiful than the Etudes.

I have little motivation for learning the Etudes on the grounds that they are rather dull. However, the Preludes are fine little pieces, each representing a few different styles of expression.

Prelude Number 1 is technically fairly easy, which allows a great deal of freedom for evocation.

There is a phenomenal resource for Preludes here with a lesson for the first and third with the great Julian Bream. He discusses things like shape and feeling. It seems like anything Bream talks about sounds like a great piece of music to learn!
John (played very similar to Segovia's style (wow, an error at 1:29))
Excellent versions: Nicholas Petrou (exceptionally clean, nice variations), Sam Muir (nicer overall pacing)

For me, Prelude No. 1 speaks of the Springtime. Short, heavy rains and bright sunny days with heady nectar-filled air and bright green fields - especially in the three-string harmonic and short section afterwards.

Prelude No. 2 I have not yet started.
Julian John
Nicholas Petrou

Prelude No. 3 is all about bittersweet successes. Something resolves, but it's missing something. Part of this is because it is short, but the choice of notes gives a feeling of something imperfect in its completion. Perhaps like taking pride in the achievement of a son or daughter of a past love interest.

This Prelude is often spoken of as a test piece for a guitar. It tends to stay pretty high on the fretboard, so it has some great shimmering, but it also descends a good ways towards the nut and has some smooth bass notes that need to be buttery and smooth.
Julian John
Nicholas Petrou
TAB

Prelude No. 4 builds on this theme, pushing further into uncomfortable territory, as if calming a nagging feeling of failure until a private moment can be taken for a touch of venting, then re-composing one's self.

String scratch is a major issue for the 4th Prelude with a powerful section played with furious intensity that really should not be overshadowed too much by the zippy scritch on the bass strings.

These two preludes demonstrate a clear departure in the styles of bream and Williams, with Bream's take on them moving and pensive, while John's is rushed a strong emphasis on strict tempo and in my opinion, missing a lot of the emotional impact.
Julian John
Per Olov (as much as I love basically everything this guy plays, this one is quite old and not him at his best... this is an example of the scratchiness overshadowing the power of the fast part)

Prelude No. 5

Julian
John