Defying gravity by Stephen Schwartz

Context and genre

• composed by Stephen Schwartz

• musical based on ‘The Wizard of Oz’

• Act 1 finale song

• verse-and-chorus form

• Elphaba discovers that the Wizard she admires has sinister plans. She sings how she wants to go beyond limits and go against rules

• duet for Elphaba and Glinda

Instrumentation/Performing forces

• duet for two female singers, Elphaba and Glinda. Elphaba = mezzo-soprano and Glinda = soprano

• large vocal range of just below 2 octaves

• the two characters either deliver their text sung, half sung half spoken, or as spoken dialogue

• large orchestra used: woodwind section (+piccolo, bass clarinet and cor anglais), brass(homophonic chordal accompaniment in an almost fanfare-like manner) and string (tremolo) sections

• drum fill

• descending scales for bass clarinet

• cymbal roll to add excitement

• tutti at climax

• synthesiser and glockenspiel play high-pitched ostinato as Elphaba sings of flying high

• chordal writing for low brass

• solo synth melody

• electric guitar and overdrive

• small part for chorus at the end

• closed hi-hat of drum kit constant crotchet rhythm

Melody

• starts conjunct

• then features disjunct and wide angular leaps

• leaps feature rising perfect fifth or 4th, large leaps such as compound fourth, compound perfect fifth

• mainly syllabic allows text to be delivered clearly but some melisma adds to melodic interest

• ascending sequence used

• some chromaticism to add melodic interest

Texture

• brief monophonic texture unaccompanied at the start

• melody-dominated homophony (singer is accompanied by chord in the orchestra)

• homophonic chordal moments

• ostinato accompaniment with repeated seimiquavers

• Elphaba and glinda sing separately, but sometimes in unison, or in harmony such as thirds

• ending is polyphonic with 3 different musical ideas with different lyrics

Tonality

• Ambiguous at start, chromatic chord movement and unrelated chord progressions

• D major

• B major for two bars, F major at bar 22

• Tonic key of D major

• G major

• B minor

• D major

Harmony

• Chords in root position(triads)

• unrelated chord progressions

• shift downwards in semitones

• use of dissonance

• pedal at the end

Tempo, rhythm and metre

• 3/2 to 2/2 to 4/4 and return to 2/2

• syncopation is frequent throughout

• dotted rhythms are used throughout

• triplets

• crotchet and quaver based rhythms, longer duration notes at end of phrases

• rests and used to break up phrases

• each phrase starts with an off-beat entry after a crotchet reset

• pause marks and fermatas are used