ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on “Gloria,” the opening track from the U2 album, October (1981). The essay examines counterpoint in the song from the perspective of embodied musical gesture, showing how vocal and instrumental gestures are combined freely, without strict contrapuntal alignment, to form a unique gestural approach that engages with lyrics and sonic design to project U2's signature sound. Observations on musical form and Bono's enacted vocal persona are correlated with shifting spatial qualities of sound on the recorded track. Investigating guitar gesture in the song, the analysis shows how Edge maximizes the sonic effect of relatively simple guitar moves derived from rhythm & blues traditions, using delay guitar effects that he helped pioneer. The study illuminates how U2 creates a virtual sonic space to artistically engage with complex issues of musical style, identity, politics, and religion. In “Gloria,” a dramatic arc spanning the whole song metaphorically projects a unifying gestural action: the enactment of a prayer answered.
