Prelude

Legend has it that "Una Lágrima (A Teardrop)" is Tarrega’s reaction to the death of his daughter “Conchita”. Returning home from a concert tour in Mallorca, Spain in December of 1891, Tarrega’s wife, Maria José Rizo, informed him that Conchita had passed on three days earlier.

Prelude No.2 was composed on 16 March 1896 in Barcelona and dedicated to Miguel Llobet. Often preludes were conceived by Francisco Tárrega for the benefit of his pupils, specifically to improve their artistic and expressive abilities. It has been said that some of the preludes were results of Tárrega's improvisation during the lessons. Legend has it that Tárrega was never tempted to play his preludes at recitals. Nonetheless, I feel that these preludes are actually the epitome of Tárrega's art.

In the 17th century, French lutenists and harpsichordists developed the unmeasured prelude. An unmeasured prelude is a prelude with neither time signature nor bar lines and often has very few note-value indications. Because of this, rhythmic interpretation is mostly left to the performer, resulting in the music being highly improvisatory.