(5) You Raise Me Up - Harmonic Analysis

1. Chords and their functions

For my harmonic analysis, I focused more on the music in bars 1-28 and bars 60-66, because the harmonic analysis in between these 2 sections is very similar to that of the front sections of the song. Here is my analysis of the chords and their functions for the respective sections of the song.


The harmony of the song is largely diatonic.


 1 a. Introduction – Bars 1 to 12

The song begins in the key of E flat major.

As shown above, we see the use of some Classical harmonic clichés at cadential points; however, they occur in a way that might be termed as a "reinvention", if I might put it in this manner.

For example, in bar 5, there is a suspended Eb over the Bb chord V in Eb major. We expect the suspended Eb to resolve to a D, however, the Eb is suspended and help throughout bar 5 until the first half of bar 6, and the D only appears as the last note of bar 6. Even then, it did not appear in the same voice as the suspended Eb.

There is a similar case of a "reinvention" of the suspension in bars 9 to 10. In bar 9, the Eb is somewhat prepared by the reiteration of the same note in the first half of bar 9; however, the G does not seem to have been prepared in any way. While the G is implied to be suspended and somewhat momentararily resolved to F over the chord V in bar 10, the Eb, which is suspended, does not resolve, and still continues to sound in the second half of bar 10.


 1 b. Verse – Bars 12 to 20


The song is still in Eb major in this section.

In this section, we again come across the “reinvention” of a Classical harmonic cliché at cadential points.

In bar 13, there appears to be an implied suspension of an Eb in the Bb chord V. However, this Eb does not resolve to the expected D. All this happens over a tonic pedal in the bass.


 1 c. 1st Chorus – Bars 20 to 28


The song is still in Eb major in this section.

 
In this section, we again come across the “reinvention” of a Classical harmonic cliché at cadential points.

For example, in bar 27, there appears to be a suspended Eb and G. While the Eb appears to resolve to a D in the second half of the bar, the G is only implied to be suspended, as there is no obvious resolution of the note to the expected F.



1 d. Violin solo – Bars 28 to 36


In terms of the harmony, what I found in the Verse in bars 12 to 20 is around the same in this violin solo section. The main difference is that the key of the song changes from Eb major to Bb major in this violin solo section.


1 e. 2nd Chorus – Bars 36 to 44

The chorus comes back for a 2nd time in bars 36 to 44. The harmony found in the 1st Chorus in bars 20 to 28 is very similar to that of this 2nd Chorus. The main difference is that this 2nd chorus is in the key of Bb major.


1 f. 3rd Chorus – Bars 45 to 53

The chorus is sung again for the 3rd time in bars 53 to 61. Once again, the harmony found here is similar to the previous 3 choruses. This time, however, the chorus appears in the key of Gb major, as the music changes from Bb major to Gb major in bar 45.



1 g. 4th Chorus – Bars 53 to 62

The chorus is sung for the last time in bars 53 to 61. In terms of the harmony, the last chorus in this section is also rather similar to all the other previous occurrences of the chorus in the song. The key in this section remains in Gb major. However, there is one striking difference in this section which distinguishes it from the rest of the other sections, and that is the use of what seems to be a deceptive resolution of V at the end of this section. This is a common type of cadential extension. Let us take a look at the chords leading up to the resolution of this section.

Instead of resolving the V7 directly to I in a perfect cadence which could have ended the phrase (and the song itself), the composer chose to resolve to the submediant chord, vi, instead. This gives an element of surprise to the listener, who would be expecting the conventional resolution to the tonic chord, especially after hearing several instances of that in the previous reprises of the chorus. The resolution from V7 to I is then followed a chord IV, which appears to have the function of prolonging the “tonic” before that.


I h. Outro in the form of a Cadential Extension – Bars 62 to 66

The Outro is what is known as the "lead-out" or ending to a song. Here, the music continues in the key of G flat major, and eventually closes in this key. The Outro seems to be in the form of a cadential extension , a common feature of songs. The cadential extension takes the form of reiterations of the cadences leading up to a perfect cadence once again, as if to confirm that is indeed that final cadence.