Hallelujah

• Hallelujah, k.d. Lang, 2004
• Form: this song is strophic, it comes back to the chorus "Hallelujah" and it is also very accessible, it easy to sing along to- the words are annunciated clearly. It may be harder to reach the pitches that k.d. sings, however.
• Origin: this is a contemporary work, although it is a cover of a song written in the 80s.
• Instrumentation: vocals (one singer), piano, and string accompaniment (guitar, violins).
• Melody: after listening to this song, what sticks in my head is "hallelujah" repeated over and over.
• Texture: I would not describe this song as rich. This is not to say that it is lacking something, but rather that what is most attractive about this song is something other than the texture.
• Range: k.d. explores quite a range in this song, and the instruments flow with her.
• Tempo: this is a fairly slow paced song, which speeds up with the swell of the song at the climaxes.
• Meter: it seems to be in a duple beat the entire time.
• Volume: the volume plays a large role in bringing this piece to life. It is used to emphasize the climaxes of the song, and increases throughout the phrasing. I thought the use of volume change in this song really made it more dynamic.
• Lyrics: This song is exclaiming, "Hallelujah" which is typically a hopeful, cheerful thing to exclaim, but in this case, the song does not seem to be cheery. "Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah" does not imply that she is singing hallelujah out of sheer joy. It seems that she is reminiscing about a lost love, bringing new, melancholic, meaning to the word, "Hallelujah."
• Personal: I found this song to be very beautiful. I really enjoy k.d.'s voice, and the crescendos and swelling of the song through the phrasing made it very pleasing to listen to.