Cocktail Party Fact: Nicknamed “Symphony of a Thousand” this is the largest symphony ever written [that actually gets played regularly]. You can actually do it with about 450 people if necessary.

Commitment Factor: 75 - 80 minutes

Vital Statistics: Late Romantic/Modern Period (1906). Composed in two large movements, the first is a setting of the Latin hymn “Veni creator spiritus,” while the long finale sets the finale scene of Goethe’s “Faust.” There are eight solo singers, two large choruses, a children’s chorus, a huge orchestra including harps, piano, celesta, organ, harmonium, several mandolins (!), brass in the balcony, bells–you name it.

What to Listen For: Each theme in the first movement reappears in the second, set to a different text. Since the entire piece is sung, all you have to do is sit down with the words and follow along. The second movement follows the text very closely, while the first is a glorious mish-mash of Latin in which the text is broken up and reassembled backwards and forwards in order to create an overwhelming hymn of praise.