Schott Hundertmelodienbuch (for Recorder Solo and Other Instruments) Schott Series

Description

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 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)