Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) was a Brazilian composer who composed a very large collection of works, in particular for the guitar. Nationalism and universality were a driving force in his compositions. He believed that in order to write music of universal significance, it had to incorporate the local folklore and depict the local landscape. To this end he decided to tour the enormous expanse of his country and on his return he declared that Brazilian music, the music of his people, finally flowed through his veins. It was at this time in 1940 that he wrote his famous Five Preludes. Prelude #4 is reminiscent of the Amazon: mysterious, captivating, active and tense.