ABSTRACT
The four-voice texture provides fullness without turbidity, permit-ting the melodic motion of the individual voices to be heard clearly. The four-voice texture has been around so long that it’s considered standard. The bulk of the choral repertory is written for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The string section of the Classical orchestra was basically a four-part ensemble. And the string quartet arguably has been the most successful of all chamber groups. The central mission in part writing is to guide the voices through a harmonic succession by leading them down separate melodic corridors. Within the confines, each line should be musical and singable and faithful to the melodic tendencies of the pitches while producing harmonies that are spaced and doubled well. Voice crossing and overlap are not so much errors as they are exceptional practices that can be justified for melodic or other reasons.
