Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Phrase Structure Analysis:
The introduction of this piece is a simple 4-bar phrase. The verse, however, is has a sentence structure. The short-short-long structure is indicated by the Green line. The long subphrase in the sentence structure can also be seen as a simple period in which bars 9 and 10 make up the antecedent (ends with plagal cadence) and bars 11 and 12 make up the consequent (ends in perfect cadence).
Similarly, the entire verse from Bar 5 to Bar 12 can be seen as one large single period with the antecedent as Bars 5 to 8 and the consequent as Bars 9 to 12. The cadence for the end of the antecedent is plagal and the cadence for the end of the consequent is a perfect cadence.
Hypermetric Organization:
The hypermetric organization of these 12 bars is shown by the blue lines in Fig 1. Basically, there is hypermetric symmetry.
On the metric level, the stress on the second beat in bars 6 and 10 can be attributed to portraying the words. If the metric stresses were to follow the usual (i.e "tain" falling on a minim on the 3rd beat), it will cause the words "mountain" and "byway" to drag, thus emphasizing on its negativity.
"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from the musical, The Sound of Music. The song was sung by a female mentor character in the show, and the song was used to give strength and encourage the protagonist, Maria, in the story. Hence, since it was meant to be a song of strength and encouragement, using the usual metric stresses in bars 6 and 10 will not be suitable for the character of the piece.
Harmonic Analysis:
A chord analysis and a harmonic function analysis has been done in Figure 2 above. The key remains as C Major for all 12 bars.
Harmonic Progression
The 12 bars contain complete harmonic phrases. However, they do not coincide with the melodic phrasing of the 12 bars. In the first phrase, the harmonic phrase has an ending tonic expansion of I^6 - IV- I. The end of this tonic expansion falls on the first beat of Bar 5.
Chromaticism
There is much use of Chromaticism used in this piece. This can be observed in both the melodic line and the chromatically descending bass line as seen in bars 5 to 10. The use of altered chords in Bars 7 (Gm chord) and 9 (Fm chord) assist in creating the chromatic feel of the song and is in fact, needed to ensure the descending bass line.
The entensive use of Chromaticism in this song could be due to the overall nature and purpose of the piece. The song represents encouragement and hope to press on despite facing "mountains" and difficulties. Chromatic points are non-diatonic and help portray the image of resistance.
Non-harmonic Tones
In Bar 1, one can observe a false relation between G and G#. This is because the G# is used as a passing note to the A whereas the G is part of the bass movement I-Ic.
The 7th note of Chord ii (Bar 5) and Chord I (Bar 7) resolve downwards stepwise and contributes to the descending bass line.
F# in Bar 6 does not belong to chord V and is used as an appogiatura in the melody.
The last note in Bar 11 (C note) is an anticipated note to the following C in Bar 12.
There appears to be a 2-3 suspension in the bass in Bar 12. In this case, the suspended note is F is prepared in the previous bar (Bar 11) and resolves to E. The suspension here reinforces the cresendo and builds up and drives the music into the next section.
Here is a modern version of the song (sung by Christina Aguilera). Enjoy! :)
Hi clara. The video has been removed. I can't get a chance to listen to it. :(
ReplyDeleteWan Xin, i changed the video already. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Clara,
ReplyDeleteThis piece is not easy to analyse. I have spent more than an hour just to understand 12 bars. Well done, Clara. I think you have made a good effort. :)
I do not really understand about the meaning of altered chord that you wrote in the score. So I just use the knowledge I have to explain these bars. I am also sorry I can’t use the figured bass here because I still couldn’t type it out.
The whole piece is played in C major as you said.
Bar 1 – 4 is the tonic expansion by using chord I. Since these 4 bars are the introduction of the music, I will treat the 2nd chord of each bar as decoration. For example the G sharp in bar 1 is a chromatic passing note.
The 1st chord of Bar 5 is the chord I of C major but I analyse the 2nd chord as V7d/V, which tonicised to G major. So the chord in bar 6 is I7b/V. It is a perfect cadence in C major but not harmonically closed.
Bar 7 and bar 8 are also tonicised but to F major. The 1st chord of bar 7 is IV/IV and the following chord is V7d/IV. The chord in bar 8 is I7b/V. The same perfect cadence is used in C major but different key.
I am not sure about the chord progression in bar 9. I analyse the 1st chord as IV7a/I, which tonicised to C minor. Then it goes back to C major with chord iib and IV, and the chord in bar 10 is I6.
I agree the chord progression you analysed for bar 11 and bar 12. However, I analyse the lower voice of bar 12 as decoration and not 2-3 suspension. It doesn’t give me a strong feeling of being a suspension.
That’s all for my analysis. I hope I didn’t make any terrible mistake here. :)
Now that you mentioned it, I realized that those two "altered chords" i indicated earlier are indeed tonicized chords. It totally slipped my mind when I was doing the analysis.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out!
Hi Clara,
ReplyDeleteYou've chosen a short extract but one rich in analytical content (including what I haven't taught).
First, your phrase analysis. The introduction does have a sentence structure (1+1+2). The first 8 bars of the verse, however, has less a sentence structure but more a series of 2+2+2+2 subphrases. Note the parallel in melodic ideas between the two subphrases of each pair? However, this is really not a double period since there is only one structural cadence at the end.
Harmony-wise, the introduction is simply V-V4/2-I6 (i.e.D-T) followed by a plagal expansion of the tonic. Can you work out the voice-leading elaboration of the opening V?
Your altered chords are actually mixture harmonies, which we will learn in AAI 184. Wan Xin is correct to note that the tonicizations surrounding them but they themselves are not tonicized. The progression here is essentially a chromatic and extended lament bass that leads to a tonic:
I-V4/2 of V-V6-v6-V4/2/IV-vi-iv-iio6-I6-IV-V4/2-I6 (i.e. T --> D - T).
The "vi" is substituting for the expected IV6 and the final I6 does indeed have a 2-3 bass suspension. The F# in b. 6 is an upward suspension with its preceding E note as a neighbour-note separating it from its preparatory F#.
Your discussion of the setting for "mountain" can be clearer with the right terminology. What you are referrig to is the rhythm (minim-minim vs crotchet-dotted minim), not metric stress. Either way, the first syllable does get stressed on the downbeat.