Harmonic Stasis and Oscillation in Björk’s Medúlla

The key musical procedure in popular music . . . lies in repetition and attendant processes of variation. Repetition enables and stabilizes; it facilitates adventure while guaranteeing, not the outcomes as such, but the meaningfulness of adventure. If repetition of a harmonic progression seventy-five times can keep listeners and dancers interested, then there is a power to repetition that suggests not mindlessness or a false sense of security (as some critics have proposed) but a fascination with grounded musical adventures. Repetition, in short, is the lifeblood of music.(1)[1] In August 2004, Bjork Guðmundsdottir released an album titled Medulla that originates primarily from human voices, follows her long-standing tradition of collaborative work, and relies heavily on processes of repetition. Bjork has held an important place in popular music for over thirty years, and several scholars have begun to examine her music critically.(2) This paper will present harmonic repetition as an important aspect of Bjork's musical style, as it is developed on Medulla. Bjork's strategies of harmonic oscillation and stasis provide a valuable point of departure for interpreting her music. In studying how Bjork explores patterns of harmony and processes of harmonic development, we can uncover her unique formal structures and manipulations of phrase temporality. Harmonic oscillation and stasis occur among other types of repetition, and this study will examine how these elements are used in Bjork's compositional designs and structures. Harmonic strategies of repetition used at various levels of structure on this album suggest multiple interpretations and orientations for listening.[2] First, I will explore characterizations of musical stasis from theorists such as Leonard Meyer and Lewis Rowell, who consider the structural function of and effects associated with musical stasis. I will then relate stasis to harmonic oscillation, which occurs whenever patterns of two or more harmonies repeat in a cyclic fashion.(3) The interpretation of these processes by listeners leads to questions about the analytic terms we apply to describe these effects as well as the formation of listener expectations and reactions to them. Theorists such as Marianne Kielian-Gilbert (2003 and 2004) describe the listener's response to harmonic oscillation in terms of listening states or conditions. To account for harmonic progressions that suggest tonal centricity, I apply the concepts of repose and tension as interpretive models to passages from "Triumph of a Heart." And to explore extensive uses of harmonic oscillation and stasis, I introduce models and image schemata developed by Tim Hughes and William Echard.[3] Finally, taking three songs from the Medulla album as case studies, I will show how these models can inform musical analysis of the songs. The first case study, an analysis of "Oll Birtan," demonstrates harmonic stasis, which is typically associated with concepts of timelessness and eternity. This reading is situated in contrast with a goal-directed, hierarchic interpretation, resulting in two conflicting interpretations based on analysis of the same musical material at two different structural levels. In the second case study, "Who Is It" demonstrates harmonic oscillation used in conjunction with metric re-ordering (or inversion) of repeated chords. Two types of inversion occur in this song: inter-sectional inversion and intra-sectional inversion. The former refers to an inverted ordering of chords in parallel passages of different sections, whereas the latter refers to re-ordered chords within a single section. In both cases, metric placement of repeated chords is shifted, which has implications for tonal function. Local-level processes of oscillation combine with larger ones, culminating in a tonal scheme dependent upon large-scale oscillating harmonic fields. The final case study investigates "Triumph of a Heart," which features harmonic oscillation in all of its verses and choruses. …