VII-i cadence in a minor key

Question

I have read many people claiming that this cadence is actually a disguised V-vi in the relative major. But as a pianist and composer I do not feel this way at all. For a concrete example, here is a simple random sample I just made up, ending with the cadence VII-i.

Is there any well-known composer who explicitly wrote about this VII-i cadence and considers it to be a final/perfect cadence in a minor key just like the perfect cadence V-I in a major key? To be clear, I want to know the historical perspective of this cadence of historic composers, especially if they too consider it final rather than "deceptive"... Any actual name and quote would be great, preferably along with a reference to where I can find said quote.

Answer 1

This feels very (modern) modal to me. The cadence is very much at home in the harmonic style developed by composers starting in the late 19th century who sought to develop national characteristics in their classical compositions by incorporating elements taken from folk songs, many of which have lowered "leading tone." This led them to develop idioms where the seventh scale degree is not chromatically altered.

With this in mind, it's interesting that you chose the C Dorian key signature rather than C minor, especially since there are A flats in the piece but no A naturals.

It doesn't sound at all like V-vi in major, largely because the tonic pitch of the melody is clearly C rather than E flat. A classic deceptive cadence typically has a melodic cadence on ^1, which is of course the third of the vi chord.

In this modal idiom, VII-i certainly shares some similarity to V-i from a larger-scale formal point of view, but there are some obvious differences at the smaller scale, the most significant being the stepwise motion of the bass and the lack of a raised leading tone. Similar to the vii°-i cadence in common-practice harmony, which may be seen as V7-i with the root of the first chord omitted, the VII-i cadence can also be seen as v7-i with the root of the first chord omitted. All of these serve to harmonize the classic melodic cadence (descending in stepwise motion) because in each case the penultimate chord contains the second degree of the scale (for example, in C minor, D is contained in G, B°, Gm, and B♭).

This cadence is decidedly alien to common-practice harmony, however, whereas the "deceptive" V-vi cadence is, well, common. When "people claim" something about music theory, it's important to recognize that they may be talking about a particular period or style. Is it rock? Jazz (and, if so, from which decade)? Modern classical? Common practice (and, if so, which half of which century)? Renaissance? Approaching this cadence from each of these different perspectives will make it look somewhat different.

Answer 2

'Classical' harmony doesn't really embrace the ♭VII chord and doesn't include it in its lexicon of cadences. ♭VII can be hard to explain in function 'cycle of 5ths' terms (except when it's being 'IV of IV') and I don't think there's much point in trying to force in into that system. Just accept that in these Blues- and Mode-influenced days, ♭VII - note or chord - has attained 'honorary diatonic' status. It's a step below the tonic and leads well into the tonic, in both minor and major contexts.

I doubt you'll find a reputable opinion that ♭VII - I equates to a perfect cadence in a minor key, because V7 - I, a 'real' perfect cadence, is available to minor or major keys.

Answer 3

VII-i is simply no cadence because cadence means falling a fifth.

That's why you won't find it mentioned or discussed by composers or other theorists. It is a progression in modal music coming from medieval church music and is used very often in film music, folk and pop songs and old and modern church music. It's not a cadence, just a common modal clausula in natural minor.

The same progression in relative major V-vi is called false cadence because we expect the fifthfall V-I and we are deceived, but the true cadence will be some measures later.

Edit:

I agree that the term candence is used in a broader way than the definiton in my answer above: all cadences like phrygian, catalanian, piccardie, and the plagal cadence are not fifth fall cadences. The simplest way of chord progression is: i-VII-VI-VII-I.

I'd suggest to call this the Aeolian Cadence.