Note 88 — Chapter VIII · THE RISE OF THE NETHERLAND SCHOOLS
Reading edition
A sequence of chords at the end of a phrase or period, involving, in modern music, a clear enunciation of the tonality or key in which the piece is written. Full, perfect, complete or authentic cadence is the dominant harmony in root position followed by that of the tonic in root position. This kind of cadence is comparable to a period. A half cadence is a less definite closing, used for phrases not final.