"Measured cadence" meaning in the musical context (monks' chanting)

Question

I would like to ask for help with proper understanding of the following paragraph (included to give some context):

As I thus mused there fell upon my ears the sounds  of sonorous
chanting that swelled symphonically from somewhere far below. Its
measured cadence rose and  fell solemnly as if it were borne from a
distance incredible to human ears.

I find it very hard to infer the correct meaning here, mainly because "cadence" has various meanings and being a non-native speaker, this is particularly difficult for me.
My best guess is that the chanting was somehow organized and the tune (intonation?) was going up and down (high and low), maintaining somehow a solemn nature?

Max Williams · Accepted Answer

Cadence is a "rhythymic and melodic flow", usually with regards to speech, where variations in pitch and timing attempt to better capture the listener's attention.
Imagine a boring college professor talking in a constant droning monotone - that lacks cadence.  Now imagine a good public speaker who pauses when they want to get people's attention, varies pitch, etc.  They have better cadence.
Cadence applies to the religious type of chanting described here, which is part-way between talking and singing.  They're probably describing something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBwh1OXw6uI
Measured in this sense means "carefully controlled."
That passage could be rendered more prosaically as

While I was thinking, I heard the chanting of deep, echoing voices,
growing louder and coming from somewhere far below.  The pitch of the
chanting grew higher, in a slow, controlled way, sounding like
it was coming from a very long way away.

"Measured cadence" meaning in the musical context (monks' chanting)

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