All previous recordings of the Villa-Lobos 1928 Guitar Etudes stem from the version printed and published in 1957, bearing a dedication to Andres Segovia. David Leisner’s, however, utilizes the original 1928 manuscript, recently discovered in the Villa-Lobos Museum in Rio de Janeiro. As Leisner explains in the annotations for his complete survey of the composer’s guitar music, this manuscript is a meticulously copied score, with an enormous number of notes, accents, dynamics, repeat signs, and tempo markings that significantly differ from the published edition. One wonders to what extent Segovia influenced Villa-Lobos to change his music to the degree that he did. Leisner’s meticulously prepared and deeply felt premier recordings of the originals make a persuasive case for the composer’s first thoughts. The familiar repeats in the first two Etudes, for instance, don’t exist in the original, while the composer adapts an asymmetrical repeat scheme for No. 3. The central etudes benefit from the composer’s specific tempo indications. No. 9 sounds better and more convincingly lyrical at a properly ruminative pace. Nineteen measures of new material change the complexion of No. 10, while No. 11 is also cogently fleshed out by extra measures. The Five Preludes and enchanting Suite Populaire Brésilienne also flow effortlessly from Leisner’s mind and fingers. His nimble fretwork and organic feeling for the composer’s undulating idiom will keep many a budding guitarist humble. The roomy engineering suggests a small, resonant hall rather than an intimate studio, which suits these ears just fine. A valuable addition to the guitar catalog.
