La Mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre

La Mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre, or simply The Sea is a symphonic work by French composer Claude Debussy. As the title suggests, the author draws his inspiration from contemplating the sea, and the work is divided into the three parts respectively named as one. 1. "From dawn to noon on the sea," 2. "Play of the Waves," 3. "Dialogue of the wind and the sea." But in reality, it is more the memory of the sea that haunts Debussy, in the same way that the impressionist painters depicted the feelings that Nature aroused in them. In fact, in a letter to the editor Durand, dated 12 September 1903, he writes: “You will tell me that the Ocean doesn’t wash the slopes of Burgundy…! [...] But I have so many memories in me—and it is even better than the reality, whose charm is too loud in your mind.” The piece is so well made that the Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter writes about it in these terms: “If you just watched the sea, you wouldn’t feel as deeply as when you listen to The Sea. [...] Debussy is the epitome of perfection.”