classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

theory, the English cadence is a

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

pattern particular to the authentic or perfect cadence. It features a flattened seventh

scale degree In music theory, the scale degree is the position of a particular note on a scale relative to the tonic, the first and main note of the scale from which each octave is assumed to begin. Degrees are useful for indicating the size of intervals and ...

against the dominant chord, which in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

of C would be B and G–B–D. Popular with English composers of the High Renaissance and

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

periods in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the English cadence is described as archaic or old-fashioned sounding. It was first given its name in the twentieth century. The hallmark of this device is the dissonant

augmented octave In Western tonality, tonal music theory, an augmented octave is the sum of a perfect octave and an augmented unison or chromatic semitone. It is the interval (music), interval between two notes, with the same note letter on staff positions an oc ...

(compound augmented unison) produced by a false relation between the split seventh scale degree.

Characteristics

In beat 3 of the example below, the tenor's B sounds concurrently with the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

's B. This voice leading entails the seventh degree's dual functionality, or its capacity for opposing voice-leading tendencies. That is, a lowered seventh degree resolves downward to the sixth (e.g., B–A), while a raised seventh (i.e., a leading tone) resolves upward to the first degree (e.g., B–C). English cadence on C

harmonic A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...

terms, the basis of the English cadence is the authentic cadence, which follows the chord progression V–I. This variant is characterized by a penultimate, dominant chord with a split third, thereby creating a false relation between the germane parts. The two notes which create this false relation need not necessarily occur simultaneously, but must both be present in the dominant chord of the cadence. Such instances may include a voice exchange whereby the flattened seventh scale degree is replaced by the raised seventh (leading tone) all within the context of the dominant chord. The

nature of the device dictates a minimum of three

parts Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer * Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer *Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor *Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) a ...

, though it is generally found in works with four or more parts. Where this musical device is used in music written in a minor key, it is common for it to be combined with a Picardy third, ultimately producing a major tonic. The Corelli cadence is another "clash cadence" containing a dissonant half-step.

History and usage

The English cadence was primarily used in choral music, though it is also present in contemporaneous music for consorts of viols and other instruments. The cadence is found as early as

Machaut Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...

(c. 1300–1377). The origins of this cadential form are unclear. The end of Tallis's '' Spem in alium'' contains an example. Described as "stale" by Morley in 1597,Curtis, Alan (1969). ''Sweelinck's Keyboard Music: A Study of English Elements in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Composition'', p. 155. 1987 edition: . the device fell out of use in the early part of the seventeenth century, though we still find many examples of it in Purcell's anthems ("My heart is inditing" or "Rejoice in the Lord alway" for instance). This was due partly to a period of decline for music and composition in England, as well as to the development of generally accepted rules of

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

in which the false relation was no longer acceptable.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English Cadence Cadences Chromaticism