Jump to content

Lydian cadence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lydian cadence (voice-leading) on E Play

A Lydian cadence is a type of half cadence that was popular in the Ars nova style of the 14th and early 15th century. It is so-called because it evokes the Lydian mode based on its final chord as a tonic, and may be construed with the chord symbols VII6
3
-I (if the final is taken as a Lydian-mode tonic) or III6
3
-IV (if the final is taken as a scale degree 4 in major). It is also the most common type of double-leading-tone cadence, as it contains two leading-tone resolutions (scale degree 4-scale degree 5 and scale degree 7-scale degree 8). A frequently-used type of Landini cadence is based on the Lydian cadence, with the upper voice dropping to scale degree 6 before skipping back up to the tonic.