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Da Requiem and Da Quartet 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 style (both male and female).

The Baroque Quartet is a form of music composition similar to the trio sonata, but with four music parts performed by three solo melodic instruments and basso continuo. The solo instruments could be strings or wind instruments.

Examples of Baroque quartets are Georg Philipp Telemann's Paris quartets.

Quartets are popular in jazz and jazz fusion music. Jazz quartet ensembles are often composed of a 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).

The quartet lineup is also very common in pop and rock music. A standard quartet formation in pop and rock music is an ensemble typically consisting of a 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, piano, synthesizer) or soloing instrument (e.g., saxophone) may be used.[1]

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 quartets.

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
• 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
• The Dixie Hummingbirds
• The Four Aces
• The Four Freshmen
• The Four Seasons
• Four Tops
• The Statesmen Quartet
• The Blackwood Brothers
• Cathedral Quartet
• Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
• Golden Gate Quartet
• The Hilltoppers
• The Jordanaires
• The Mills Brothers

The only known U.S. drag quartet is The Kinsey Sicks. Some mixed-gender vocal quartets include:

• ABBA
• The Pied Pipers
• The Mamas & the Papas
• The Merry Macs
• The Weavers

Quartet Style from Saint Petersburg:
• Alexander Smertin, artistic director, bayan,
• Alexander Barbolin, Prima Balalaika,
• Alexey Busin, Viola Balalaika,
• Evgeny Redkin, Contrabass Balalaika.

A Russian folk-instrument quartet commonly consists of a 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

[1] Merriam-Webster. "Quartet". Merriam-Webster, Inc., div. of Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 January 2013.

[2] Random House Dictionary. "Quartet". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 12 January 2013.

[3] Apel, Willi (1975). "Quartet". Harvard Dictionary of Music. Second: 711. ISBN 0-674-37501-7.

[4] Allen, Ray. Singing in the Spirit: African-American Sacred Quartets in New York City, in series, Publication[s] of the American Musicological Society, LXXV (1993).