Conductor, Sir Adrian Boult
In November 1870 Brahms's friend C. F. Pohl , author. of the great standard biography of Haydn, showed him a curious and little-known work by the eighteenth-century master : a Feldpartita in B flat written in the 1780's for Prince Esterhazy's military band. It is scored for two oboes, two horns, three bassoons, and serpent. Brahms was immediately impressed by the work ; he copied into a note-book the second movement, entitled ' Chorale St. Antonii '. But the variations by which he made that Chorale one of the world's best-known melodies were not written till the summer of 1873. Debussy's ' La Mer ' consists of three symphonic sketches that vividly describe the beautiful and varied characteristics of the sea. It is scored for a large orchestra which is used with restraint and exquisite variety of effect, the actual handling of the-harmony and orchestration showing a sensitiveness for colour that both in style and in application bears a distinct resemblance to the Impressionist painters' use of the palette.