Julien St. Pierre wrote: >... Judging by the title, you have probably guessed that I am a new >listener to classical music. I have been brought up listening to it, >but just recently have a really started listening whole-heartedly, and >am starting to really enjoy what I am listening to. My question is this >- where do I begin? What I really enjoy is a choral piece with rich >accompanying music. Wow - you have some great experiences waiting for you. For starters you might try Verdi's Requiem and his Four Sacred Pieces. They fit the choral + rich accompaniment criterion. There is also Vaughn Williams' Sea Symphony and Walton's Belshazar's Feast, and Honneger's Joan of Arc at the stake, and it goes on and on. And if happiness in a measured amount entices you try Beethoven's Ninth. But you say you don't want happy? Mahler awaits you. Try the Second Symphony which has lot's of choral stuff. But for sheer unhappiness (but no singing) there is the Sixth Symphony. And the crowning glory is the Ninth. Professor Bernard Chasan Physics Department, Boston University