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>>I love a capello. Our choir does that - and 3 gigs a year.
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>Of course, a decent choir singing a capella, doesn't sound a capella. The voices take the place of the various instruments.

Yeah, right. You can't tell the difference between us and a violin concerto. And when our brass section gets going ...

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>My mother and father used to sing in a choir that was, at least in North America, quite well recognized. It was the TJFC (Toronto Jewish Folk Choir). My dad had a beautiful Russian bass voice and my mother had a lovely Alto. Paul Robeson sang with them a couple of times as did Jan Peerce, and their leader (Emil Gartner) turned down Lena Horne when she wanted to sing with them. Anyway, the choir often performed a capella or with a single piano, but never sounded so. Sometimes they also sang with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Emil always had them breathing at different times, so the music never seemed to stop. It was wonderful. Unfortunately, my brother and I inherited negative genes in this regard, and if you heard either one of us sing, you'd find yourself automatically reaching for a gun.

I love Russian and jewish tunes - that sort of Gypsy sound.