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{{short description|Ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers}}
{{redirect|Quatuor|the French musical act|Le Quatuor|other uses|Quartet (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Street wind quartet, with trumpet and trombones. Dresden - 1396.jpg|thumb|A street brass quartet]]
In [[music]], a '''quartet''' ({{Langx|fr|quatuor}}, {{Langx|de|Quartett}}, {{Langx|it|quartetto}}, {{Langx|es|cuarteto}}, {{Langx|pl|kwartet}}) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers.<ref name="MWI">{{cite web |last=Merriam-Webster |title=Quartet |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quartet |access-date=12 January 2013 |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc., div. of Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref name=RHD>{{cite dictionary|last=Random House Dictionary|title=Quartet|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quartet|dictionary=Dictionary.com|access-date=12 January 2013}}</ref>

==Classical==
===String quartet===
{{Main|String quartet}}
[[Image:String quartet.JPG|right|thumb|A string quartet in performance. From left to right - violin 1, violin 2, cello, viola]]

In [[classical music]], one of the most common combinations of four instruments in [[chamber music]] is the string quartet.<ref name=HDM-Q>{{cite journal|last=Apel|first=Willi|title=Quartet|journal=Harvard Dictionary of Music|year=1975|volume=Second|isbn=0-674-37501-7|pages=711|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/harvarddictionar0000apel}}</ref> String quartets most often consist of two [[violin]]s, a [[viola]], and a [[cello]]. The particular choice and number of instruments derives from the registers of the human voice: [[soprano]], [[alto (voice)|alto]], [[tenor]] and [[Bass (voice type)|bass]] ([[SATB]]). In the string quartet, two violins play the soprano and alto vocal registers, the viola plays the tenor register and the cello plays the bass register.

Composers of notable string quartets include [[Joseph Haydn]] ([[List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn|68 compositions]]), [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] (23), [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] (16), [[Franz Schubert]] (15), [[Felix Mendelssohn]] (6), [[Johannes Brahms]] (3), [[Antonín Dvořák]] (14), [[Alexander Borodin]] (2), [[Béla Bartók]] (6), [[Elizabeth Maconchy]] (13), [[Darius Milhaud]] (18), [[Heitor Villa-Lobos]] (17), and [[Dmitri Shostakovich]] (15).<ref name=HDM-Q /> The Italian composer [[Luigi Boccherini]] (1743–1805), wrote 91 string quartets.

Less often, string quartets are written for other combinations of the standard string ensemble. These include quartets for one violin, two violas, and one cello, notably by [[Carl Stamitz]] (6 compositions) and others; and for one violin, one viola, and two cellos, by [[Johann Georg Albrechtsberger]] and others.

===Piano quartet===
{{Main|Piano quartet}}
Another common standard classical quartet is the [[piano quartet]], usually consisting of violin, viola, cello, and [[piano]]. [[Romantic composer]]s Beethoven, Brahms, and Mendelssohn each wrote three important compositions in this form, and Mozart, Dvořák, and [[Gabriel Fauré]] each wrote two.<ref name=HDM-Q /> [[Olivier Messiaen]]'s [[Quatuor pour la fin du temps|''Quartet for the End of Time'']] substitutes [[clarinet]] for viola.

===Other instrumental quartets===
{{Main|Wind quartet}}

Wind quartets are scored either the same as a string quartet with the [[wind instrument]] replacing the first violin (i.e. scored for wind, violin, viola and cello) or are groups of four wind instruments. Among the latter, the SATB format [[woodwind quartet]] of [[flute]], [[oboe]], clarinet, and [[bassoon]] is relatively common.

An example of a wind quartet featuring four of the same types of wind instruments is the [[saxophone quartet]], consisting of [[soprano saxophone]], [[alto saxophone]], [[tenor saxophone]] and [[baritone saxophone]]. Often a second alto may be substituted for the soprano part or a [[bass saxophone]] may be substituted for the baritone.{{cn|date=February 2020}}

===Vocal quartet<!--[[vocal quartet]] redirects directly here.-->===
Compositions for four singers have been written for quartets [[a cappella]]; accompanied by instruments, such as a piano; and accompanied by larger vocal forces, such as a [[choir]]. Brahms and Schubert wrote numerous pieces for four voices that were once popular in private salons, although they are seldom performed today. Vocal quartets also feature within larger classical compositions, such as [[opera]], choral works, and [[Symphony|symphonic]] compositions. The final movement of [[Beethoven's Ninth Symphony]] and [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s ''[[Requiem (Verdi)|Messa da Requiem]]'' are two examples of renowned concert works that include vocal quartets.

Typically, a vocal quartet is composed of:
* Soprano, alto (or [[mezzo-soprano]]), tenor, and bass (or [[baritone]]), for mixed ensembles; or
* 1st tenor, 2nd tenor, baritone, and bass, for male groups; or
* 1st soprano, 2nd soprano, mezzo-soprano, and [[contralto]], for female groups; or
* Tenor, lead, baritone, and bass, for [[Barbershop music|barbershop style]] (both male and female).

===Baroque quartet===
The [[baroque music|baroque]] quartet is a form of music composition similar to the [[trio sonata]], but with four [[part (music)|music parts]] performed by three solo melodic instruments and [[basso continuo]]. The solo instruments could be [[String instrument|strings]] or wind instruments.

Examples of baroque quartets are [[Georg Philipp Telemann]]'s [[Paris quartets]].

==Jazz==
Quartets are popular in [[jazz]] and [[jazz fusion]] music. Jazz quartet ensembles are often composed of a [[Horn (instrument)|horn]], classically clarinet (or [[saxophone]], [[trumpet]], etc.), a chordal instrument (e.g., [[electric guitar]], piano, [[Hammond organ]], [[vibraphone]], etc.), a bass instrument (e.g., [[double bass]], [[tuba]] or [[bass guitar]]) and a [[drum kit]]. This configuration is sometimes modified by using a second horn replacing the chordal instrument, such as a trumpet and saxophone with string bass and drum kit, or by using two chordal instruments (e.g., piano and electric guitar).

== Popular music ==

=== Rock and pop ===
{{See also|Four-piece}}
The quartet lineup is also very common in [[Pop music|pop]] and [[rock music]]. A standard quartet formation in pop and rock music is an ensemble typically consisting of a [[Lead vocalist|vocalist]], an electric guitar, a bass guitar, and a drum kit. This configuration is sometimes modified so that the vocalist also plays guitar, or sometimes a [[keyboard instrument]] (e.g., [[Organ (music)|organ]], piano, [[synthesizer]]) or soloing instrument (e.g., saxophone) may be used.{{cn|date=April 2020}}

=== Vocal quartet ===
In the 20th century Western [[popular music]], the term "vocal quartet" usually refers to ensembles of four singers of the same gender. This is particularly common for [[barbershop quartets]] and [[Gospel quartet]]s.

Some well-known female US vocal quartets include [[The Carter Sisters]]; [[The Forester Sisters]]; [[The Chiffons]]; [[The Chordettes]]; [[The Lennon Sisters]]; [[Blackpink]] the South Korean girl group; and [[En Vogue]]. Some well-known male US vocal quartets include [[The Oak Ridge Boys]]; [[The Statler Brothers]]; [[The Ames Brothers]]; [[The Chi-Lites]]; [[Crosby Stills Nash & Young|Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]]; [[The Dixie Hummingbirds]]; [[The Four Aces]]; [[Four Freshmen|The Four Freshmen]]; [[The Four Seasons (group)|The Four Seasons]]; [[The Four Tops|Four Tops]]; [[The Statesmen Quartet]]; [[The Blackwood Brothers]]; [[Cathedral Quartet]]; [[Ernie Haase and Signature Sound|Ernie Haase & Signature Sound]]; [[The Golden Gate Quartet|Golden Gate Quartet]]; [[The Hilltoppers (band)|The Hilltoppers]]; [[The Jordanaires]]; and [[Mills Brothers|The Mills Brothers]]. The only known U.S. [[Drag queen|drag]] quartet is [[The Kinsey Sicks]]. Some mixed-gender vocal quartets include [[ABBA]], [[The Pied Pipers]]; [[The Mamas & the Papas]]; [[The Merry Macs]]; and [[The Weavers]].

==Folk music==

===Russian===
[[File:Style Quartet SPb.jpg|thumb|Style Quartet from [[Saint Petersburg]]:<br>
<small>{{*}} Alexander Smertin, artistic director, bayan,<br>
{{*}} Alexander Barbolin, Prima Balalaika,<br>
{{*}} Alexey Busin, Viola Balalaika,<br>
{{*}} Evgeny Redkin, Contrabass Balalaika.</small>]]
A [[Russian folk music|Russian folk]]-instrument quartet commonly consists of a [[Bayan (accordion)|bayan]], a prima [[balalaika]], a prima or alto [[domra]], and a contrabass balalaika (e.g., Quartet Moskovskaya Balalaika). Configurations without a bayan include a prima domra, a prima balalaika, an alto domra, and a bass balalaika ([[Quartet Skaz]]); or two prima domras, a prima balalaika, and a bass balalaika.

==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{commonscat-inline}}
==Further reading==
*Allen, Ray. ''Singing in the Spirit: African-American Sacred Quartets in New York City'', in series, ''Publication[s] of the American Folklore Society: New Series''. Philadelphia, Penn.: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. xx,[2], 268 p., ill. with b&w photos. {{ISBN|0-8122-1331-9}} pbk.

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[[Category:Quartets| ]]
[[Category:Chamber music]]
[[Category:Types of musical groups]]
[[Category:Musical quartets| ]]
[[Category:Four-part harmony]]