Bill Pirkle writes:

>Two of the 127 MIDI voices are choir oohs and choir aahs.

Actually, the assignment of program (or "patch") IDs to sounds is
arbitrary.  There is a convention that was agreed to by synth manufacturers
some time ago for certain devices (I forget the name of the standard), but
it is an adjunct to the MIDI standard, not part of it.

>I have heard the Beethoven violin concerto in MIDI and it sounds OK.
>(MIDI allows putting many nuances into music for fidelity).

I have heard some passable MIDI renditions, and I have heard many that
were merely crude approximations.  It is largely a question of the skill
of the person doing the sequencing.  MIDI was basically designed around a
keyboard instrument model, and for wind and stringed instruments many of
these "nuances" require considerable effort to accurately simulate.  You
are also at the mercy of the quality and capabilities of the synthesizer/
sampler/sound card.

I have sequenced such things as the Widor Toccata from the Symphony No. 5,
the prelude to Das Rheingold (still in progress), the 1st movement of the
6th Brandenburg, etc.  They are instantly distinguishable from the "real
thing".  MIDI works best for pop instrument textures; simple issues of
attack and decay times for accurate simulations of pipe organs and massed
strings are a bear to get right.

len.