plagal cadence

plagal cadence

A plagal cadence is a musical formula that commonly concludes phrases by moving from the subdominant to the tonic, often heard as the familiar "Amen" close in hymns and choral music. It functions as a consonant, gentle resolution used across Western art music, liturgical settings, hymnody, and popular song, and has been treated by theorists and composers from Jean-Philippe Rameau to Arnold Schoenberg, Johann Sebastian Bach to Igor Stravinsky.

Definition and musical function

The plagal cadence is defined by a root-position progression from the subdominant chord to the tonic chord—typically IV–I in major or iv–i in minor—producing a sense of closure that contrasts with the stronger dominant-to-tonic movement exemplified by the authentic cadence. The cadence serves functions including phrase-final closure, liturgical affirmation, and harmonic softening in transitions, and has been analyzed in the work of Heinrich Schenker, Hermann Schering, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Arnold Schoenberg, and Carl Dahlhaus for its voice-leading economy and modal implications.

Historical development and examples

Writers trace precursors of the plagal motion to medieval plainsong practices and the alternation of chant tones in the Gregorian chant repertory associated with the Council of Trent reforms and monastic traditions of Saint Benedict. During the Renaissance, composers of the Roman School, including Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and members of the Flemish school like Orlande de Lassus, employed subdominant-to-tonic cadences in polyphonic liturgical settings. In the Baroque era, composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel integrated the plagal close into chorales and oratorios; later, Classical and Romantic composers including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, and Johannes Brahms used plagal formulas for stylistic or expressive effect. In the 20th century, composers from Claude Debussy to Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff recontextualized the plagal sonority in modal and modality-inspired harmonic languages. Well-known examples in popular and sacred repertoires include the hymn "Old Hundredth" associated with Isaac Watts, liturgical settings by Thomas Tallis, and closing gestures in works by The Beatles, Gospel music traditions, and film composers such as John Williams.

Harmonic structure and voice leading

Harmonically, the plagal cadence typically retains common tones between IV and I while moving one or more voices by step, producing a smooth resolution without the leading-tone-driven pull of V–I. In major, IV shares the tonic as a common tone when it is voiced as II6 or as a root-position subdominant, and voice-leading treatments are discussed by theorists like Rameau and Schenker. In minor, the iv–i variant may involve modal mixture or raised leading tones, yielding alternatives such as a borrowed IV from the parallel major or cadential variants that include V or vii°. Voice-leading configurations appear in the chorale writing of Johann Sebastian Bach, the harmonic analyses of Anton Bruckner and Franz Schubert, and pedagogical manuals by Tobias Matthay and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Variants and related cadences

Related formulas include the deceptive cadence (V–vi), the authentic cadence (V–I), and modal cadences such as the Phrygian half cadence associated with the Baroque and Renaissance practices. Variants of the plagal close encompass the double-plagal motion (e.g., bVII–IV–I as in some folk and rock contexts), the extended plagal sequence incorporating IV–viio6–I or IV–V–I hybrids favored by Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt, and modal plagal moves using borrowed chords from the parallel mode as found in works by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Analysts such as Hugo Riemann and Donald Jay Grout have compared these shapes across repertoires from Gregorian chant to contemporary popular music by artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles.

Usage in liturgical and popular music

The plagal cadence has a long association with liturgical practice, notably in Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox hymnody where the "Amen" close became conventional through composers such as Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Charles Villiers Stanford, and hymn compilers including John Wesley. In popular music, the plagal move appears in folk, blues, gospel, rock, and pop contexts—examples range from spirituals in the African American tradition to mainstream songs by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and contemporary film scores by John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Its sonority often conveys solemnity, affirmation, or pastoral calm, making it a favored device in settings associated with ritual, national anthems, and commercial media.

Category:Cadences