João Luiz — Prelúdios No. 1-2

These two short pieces come from an ongoing series of preludes for guitar composed by João Luiz, a two-time Latin Grammy nominee guitarist, educator and composer whose music often draws from the guitar idioms of his native Brazil while bearing a unique musical sense of its own. The first of these two preludes bears the subtitle of “Xangô,” referring to the powerful god of the same name originating in Yoruba religion, and later interpreted through other syncretic Afrodiasporic religious practices in Latin America. Luiz uses a melodic motif symbolizing Xangô as a thematic element throughout the prelude, first appearing in the melody line at the beginning and later appearing in the bassline to end the piece. The second prelude is a groovy number drawing sonic influence from blues as well as the Northeastern Brazilian musical genre of Baião. Movements: