Amen cadence
The plagal cadence IV–I, typical at the end of chorales.
What it means
The Amen cadence is the closing turn from the subdominant to the tonic, in function-theoretical terms S–T (IV–I). It bears its name because in Protestant as in Catholic church singing the appended “Amen” after the end of a chorale is usually sung to exactly these two chords — one syllable per sonority. It is thus a special case of the plagal cadence, named after its liturgical place, not after a build of its own.
In the notation
It is recognisable by two closing chords whose basses stand to each other in an upward fourth or downward fifth, without the dominant having sounded before. Above the closing pair the chorale book usually places the text syllable “A-men”, often with a fermata over the last chord. In degree notation it appears simply as IV–I, in the function symbol as S–T. Not seldom the whole event is appended: the actual close of the chorale has already occurred, the Amen is added on as an extra confirmation.
Musical use
The sound character distinguishes the turn clearly from the authentic cadence. There the leading tone of the dominant leads compellingly into the root, and the close seems goal-directed and complete. In the Amen cadence this leading tone is absent: the subdominant sinks, as it were, back into the tonic, and the result sounds soft, confirming, without release of tension. For this reason it is ill-suited as the sole close of a larger movement and well suited as an afterthought behind a goal already reached. Outside church music the same turn is widespread in gospel, soul and large parts of popular music, where it frequently serves as the calm fade-out of a refrain.
To distinguish: the plagal cadence is the harmonic umbrella term for any turn S–T; the Amen cadence means the same event in its liturgical context with the text syllable. From the half cadence it differs fundamentally, because that stays open on the dominant, whereas the Amen cadence reaches the tonic.
Performance practice
Draw the last chord back dynamically and let the subdominant sonority stand a little broader than the note value prescribes — the turn lives from the calm sinking, not from emphasis. At the organ it is advisable not to seek a new registration for the Amen but, if anything, to take a stop off. With the choir see that the upper voice in the closing chord lies on the root or the third; if it leads to the fifth, the close stays unfinished.