Barbara Heller

Hundertmelodienbuch

The pieces were written in the manner of diary entries, some can be played either on treble or descant recorder.'The recorder was my first instrument as a child and I learnt to play all manner of songs and melodies on it. Subsequently, I was rather less keen on the instrument: its timbre seemed too coarse and monotonous. Even later - when it was promoted to a 'high art' instrument in new music - I hated it. Nevertheless, in the early 90s, in an attempt to comply with the wishes of some recorder players, I composed a few pieces in the required manner, i. e. employing new playing techniques, but to this day they remain alien to me as they are terribly contrived. Subsequently, I couldn't stop thinking about the recorder. I started spontaneously to jot down melodies that came to me in moments of leisure [...] which is how, by and by, I learned to love the recorder again.' (Barbara Heller)