ABSTRACT
Th e songs of Sarah McLachlan are fi nely wrought and immensely popular, combining captivating vocal and electronic sounds, poignant lyrics, visceral rhythms, and a broad range of stylistic elements. Her songs deal with themes of inner contemplation and the personal struggle toward self-actualization. Th is study explores four songs that span her creative output, showing how McLachlan’s distinctive approach to voice leading helps depict narratives of an inner journey towards self-realization. In songs from Sarah McLachlan’s third studio album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, this inner journey is represented in voice-leading fi gures that migrate through shift ing harmonic contexts and become superimposed upon each other through extended chords and chromaticism. A hierarchical approach in the analysis shows how linear/modal chord patterns nested within larger tonal frameworks form open musical structures that become an artistic statement themselves, integral to the representation of McLachlan’s powerful narratives.
