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Literally "under the voice" — in an undertone, very softly as if whispering.
Sotto voce implies not just softness but intimacy and secrecy — as if the music is being confided. Use it for hushed passages that should feel private, whispered, or conspiratorial. It is a character marking as much as a dynamic one.
Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 132, third movement — sotto voce passages in the "Holy Song of Thanksgiving" create an atmosphere of sacred intimacy.
Sotto voce is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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