A Landini cadence or under-third cadence, is a type of cadence

Cadence (music)

In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...

, a technique in music composition, named after Francesco Landini

Francesco Landini

Francesco degli Organi, Francesco il Cieco, or Francesco da Firenze, called by later generations Francesco Landini or Landino was an Italian composer, organist, singer, poet and instrument maker...

 (1325–1397), a blind Florentine organist, in honor of his extensive use of the technique. The technique was used extensively in the 14th and early 15th century.

In a typical Medieval

Medieval music

Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...

 cadence, a major sixth

Major sixth

In classical music from Western culture, a sixth is a musical interval encompassing six staff positions , and the major sixth is one of two commonly occurring sixths. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two...

 musical interval is expanded to an octave

Octave

In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

 by having each note move outwards one step

Steps and skips

In music, a step, or conjunct motion, is a linear or successive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. Any larger interval is called a skip , or disjunct motion...

. In Landini's version, an escape tone

Nonchord tone

A nonchord tone, nonharmonic tone, or non-harmony note is a note in a piece of music which is not a part of the implied harmony that is described by the other notes sounding at the time...

 in the upper voice narrows the interval

Interval (music)

In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...

 briefly to a perfect fifth

Perfect fifth

In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...

 before the octave. There could also be an inner voice; in the example the inner voice would move from F to G, in the same rhythm as the lower voice.

Landini was not the first to use the cadence (Gherardello da Firenze

Gherardello da Firenze

Gherardello da Firenze was an Italian composer of the Trecento...

 appears to be the first, at least whose works have survived), and was not the last: the cadence was still in use well into the 15th century, appearing particularly frequently in the songs of Gilles Binchois

Gilles Binchois

Gilles de Binche , also known as Gilles de Bins , was a Franco-Flemish composer, one of the earliest members of the Burgundian School, and one of the three most famous composers of the early 15th century...

 and in the music of Johannes Wreede. However Landini seems to have been the first to use it consistently. The term was coined in the late 19th century by German writer A.G. Ritter (1884), in his Zur Geschichte des Orgelspiels, Leipzig.

Further reading

• David Fallows: "Landini Cadence", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed January 5, 2006), (subscription access)

External links

• "What is a Landini cadence?", Early Music FAQ. Discussion on Landini cadence and its uses in later works.