Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 2.djvu/22

10 Schumann and Brahms, again, have both used the word to denote independent pieces of small dimensions, the former in his 'Opera 4'—six pieces usually consisting of a main theme and an Alternativo; and the latter in his latest publication (op. 76), eight pieces for the P.F., of which 4 are Capriccios and 4 Intermezzi.[ W. S. R. ]

INTERRUPTED CADENCE is a progression which seems to tend towards the final Tonic chord of a perfect cadence through the usual Dominant harmony, but is abruptly deflected; so that the promised conclusion is deferred by the substitution of other harmony than that of the Tonic, after the Dominant chord which seemed to lead immediately to it.

The form which is frequently quoted as typical is that in which the chord of the submediant or third below the Tonic is substituted for the final Tonic chord, as—

instead of

from which the principle will be readily grasped.

In reality the number of different forms is only limited by the number of chords which can possibly succeed the Dominant chord, and it is not even necessary that the chord which follows it and makes the interruption shall be in the same key.

Handel frequently used the Interrupted Cadence to make the final cadence of a movement stand out individually and prominently. The following example, which is made to serve this purpose, is from his Fugue in B minor from the set of Six for the Organ, and is very characteristic of him:—

It is interesting to compare this with the conclusion of the last movement of Schumann's Sonata for Pianoforte in G minor, where a very definite Interrupted Cadence is used for the same purpose of enforcing the final cadence of the work by isolation, and the process is carried out in a thoroughly modern spirit and on an extended scale. The Interrupted Cadence itself is as follows:—

Bach frequently used Interrupted Cadences to prolong the conclusion of a work, and a form which seems to have been a great favourite with him is that in which the Tonic minor seventh succeeds the Dominant chord, thereby leading to a continuance and enforcement of the Tonic in the succession of chords at the conclusion. There are very remarkable and beautiful examples of this in the Prelude in E&#x266d; minor, No. 8, in the Wohltemperirte Clavier, the last—four bars from the end—being in the form above mentioned. The effect of this form of the Interrupted Cadence is most powerful when the seventh is in the bass, and of this there is a very striking instance in his Cantata 'Jesu, der du meine Seele,' which is as follows:—

Mozart uses the Interrupted Cadence in a similar manner to extend the movement or the section in which it occurs. As an example from him, which presents yet another form, the following from his Quartet in A, No. 5, may be taken:—

etc.

Beethoven also uses Interrupted Cadences for similar purposes to the instances quoted above; but latterly he employed them in a manner which it is important to take note of as highly characteristic and conspicuous in modern music. This is the use of them actually in place of a perfect cadence, taking them as a fresh starting point, by which means greater continuity is obtained. A well-known example is that at the end of the slow movement of the Appassionata