CADENCE, a falling or sinking, especially as applied to rhythmical or musical sounds, as in the "fall" of the voice in speaking, the rhythm or measure of verses, song or dance. In music, the word is used of the closing chords of a musical phrase, which succeed one another in such a way as to produce, first a sense of expectation or suspense, and then an impression of final ity. "Cadenza," the Italian form of the same word, is used of a free flourish in a vocal or instrumental composition, introduced immediately before the close of a movement or at the end of the piece. The object is to display the performer's technique, or to prevent too abrupt a contrast between two movements. Cadenzas were formerly left to the improvisation of the performer, but nowadays usually are written by the composer, or by some famous executant like Joseph Joachim who wrote the cadenza in Brahms's violin concerto.