Williams was eager to use this opportunity to record his first score outside of America, in this case with musicians of the Hamburg Opera and using a studio with superior recording capabilities. He specifically sought to the make the musicians proud of their work for the movie, describing his music at the time as a "big, sort of Mahlerian score." By comparison to his later orchestral efforts, Heidi isn't actually anywhere near the composer's largest works, but as of 1968, it did represent an important turn towards orchestral prowess and complexity that The Reivers and another television triumph, Jane Eyre, reinforced in his career during the following two years. There are trademark Williams techniques all over this score, his sensitive dramatic capabilities and flowing romanticism maturing throughout its length. The score expresses increasingly complicated orchestral layering relative to his comedy-centered music as "Johnny Williams" just a few years before. While most casual listeners will remember the grand ensemble performances of the two most memorable themes, the score has more hints of the composer's future success than just that mode during the vista scenes. Light comedy cues are akin to playful moments eventually explored in the Harry Potter scores, dancing lightly through "Goat's Milk," "Dinner Table," and "Stealing Rolls." The composer also previews his broad religious mode, conveyed at the climax of the story in the latter half of "Klara Walks." (The cue is arguably too monumental and may seem out of place amongst the rest of the music, but it does show Williams' chops in that area.) The film recording for Heidi has always been fairly robust for its age, but it was supplemented by a unique album presentation for the LP record, which was rushed out in anticipation of the movie and score's big success. Two additional cues were arranged and recorded in London by the composer at the time, and the record added these to grossly rearranged tracks from the film with added dialogue from the two leads. Both presentations are of interest to any enthusiast of this score. Although Heidi utilizes several clearly delineated themes, the score isn't always faithful to them in its more conversational or troubled moments, and listeners should be prepared for a significant amount of the work's midsection and climax to explore ideas not substantially reliant upon any of the themes.

This score may be something of a narrative letdown for listeners expecting the more tightly woven thematic tapestry heard in The Reivers and other equivalent Williams scores thereafter. Still, it's hard not to appreciate Williams' main theme for this movie, one built upon the melody of its song adaptation, "A Place of My Own," performed by the girl's character on screen. This idea's brightly optimistic, waltz-like mannerisms exude total innocence, defined structurally by the repeated ascending trios of notes at its opening. It builds out of Williams' secondary alpine fanfare with great anticipation at 0:47 into "Overture," its secondary lines explored on strings at 1:18 and a major brass rendition at 1:40 offering crashing cymbals and high nobility before the melody informs the fanfare again to close the suite. The waltz-centered secondary lines stew at the outset and in the middle of "Arrival in Dörfli," but the main melody again soars on strings at 2:16 with timpani rolls underneath. The main theme is soft at 1:12 into "To the Alm," slight in fragments during "At the Church," somber during "The Bedroom," and informs indirectly at 1:22 into "Return to Dörfli." It tickles in the happiness throughout "Montage," dwindles at the forefront early in "Waiting With Grandfather," and shines through the haze on winds at 2:19 into "Separation." The distinct mix of the original album presentation offers far better brass presence in the layering of "Main Title and Overture," this resounding quality reprised straight to conclude "Finale and End Title." That album also added the London-recorded "A Place of My Own" song, a very pretty vocal rendition with acoustic guitar and celesta added. The very wet ambience of that album's presentation especially applies to the vocals here, which sound as though they're being performed on an open mountaintop somewhere and defy the recording's age. This theme is the score's one true calling card, the primary performance tracked in as needed. The secondary themes of Heidi are a bit more fleeting, but they do hold some attraction. The alpine fanfare for the location opens "Overture" with exuberance from trilling flutes and wild triangle. The horns carry the idea with even more wholesome clarity at 0:15 into "Arrival in Dörfli," and this idea goes dormant until it explodes at the start of "Return to Dörfli" with glorious enthusiasm, multiple renditions following later in the cue. On the original album presentation, this music was concentrated in the track "The Alm" with the main fanfare without the narration overlay, and the fantastic performance really shines with the additional reverb in the latter half of the track.

Williams composed a love theme for the disabled girl's adult guardians, but you may not even notice it at first pass. It consists of three ascending four-note phrases using the same basic interval as the main theme, first developed by strings, woodwinds, and harp throughout "Library Talk." It opens "Separation" tentatively and builds to some ensemble agony and other various guises later. The idea stutters in fragments early in "The Farewell" and informs some of the counterpoint lines in the climax of "Klara Walks." Interestingly, Williams fleshed out this identity for the London recordings dedicated to the album, isolating and extending the rather repetitive theme in "Love Theme From Heidi," a performance highlighted by a soaring bridge sequence on horns. Finally, the material for the grandfather of the tale is reflective and introverted, teasing in "Arrival in Dörfli" but consolidating at the start of "To the Alm." It opens "Meditation Rock" with more gravity, provides some darkness early in "The Bedroom," sours the mood with extended renditions in the middle of "Waiting With Grandfather," and rambles at the outset of "Klara Walks." This side of the score is barely audible on the original album because it appears under narration. On the whole, Heidi is a noteworthy and decent score, but a suite of thematic highlights will suffice. Only about 20 minutes of music in the film is permanently lost on album ("Stealing Rolls" went unused because the scene was dropped and is the only rejected cue on album), and three CD releases have provided the best available material. A quasi-legal Label X album in 1995 offered the original LP music with the extensive narration removed, but this only exposed the significant looping and other rearranged edits that were sometimes annoying. A 2013 Quartet Records album provided the film version of the score along with a cleaned-up version of the LP's presentation with the narration. In 2023, that same label slightly expanded the same general ordering but used newly found, superior sources for the film version. The 2023 product has the added benefit of an expanded Jane Eyre on a second CD as well, and Williams collectors will be best served by that option. The mix on its film version is excellent, and that of the original LP album with narration has the fantastic emphasis on the brass over that on German recording; the same technique is applied to the two London-only tracks as well. Sadly, the narration is presented too dry and forward in that mix, though, affirming its destiny as an annoyance on album. In the end, the bright highlights of Heidi make it a sentimental favorite for older Williams collectors, along with Jane Eyre. Just remember to imagine the angry dudes in the bars throwing beer at the televisions in 1968 when this music first debuted.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download