SATB

A musical term that is an acronym for “Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass.” This is the standard make-up of a chorus with mixed male and female voices. This combination of voices and ranges first appeared in Lutheran churches in Germany in the early 16th century, when new religious songs were written (and old ones rewritten) to replace the Gregorian Chants of the Roman Catholic Church. These songs were called “chorales.” In the early 1700s Johann Sebastian Bach re-invented the chorale, giving it the harmony and format that still largely defines four-part SATB choruses today.