In his famous _Traite d'Instrumentation_ Berlioz spoke of his admiration for a passage in Sacchini's _Oedipus a Colone_.

Two clarinets are heard in descending thirds of real charm just before the words, "_Je connus la charmante Eriphyle._" Berlioz was enthusiastic and wrote: "We might believe that we really see Eriphyle chastely kiss his eyes.

It is admirable.

And yet," he adds, "there is no trace of this effect in Sacchini's score." Now Sacchini, for some reason or other which I do not know, did not use clarinets once in the whole score.

Benoist was commissioned to add them when the work was revived, as he told me as we were chatting one day.
Berlioz did not know this, and Benoist, who had not read Berlioz's _Traite_, knew nothing of the romantic musician's enthusiastic admiration of his work.