Defying Gravity

Context

2003 Wicked

Stephen Schwartz

musical theatre - acting, singing, dancing, spoken language

1957 West Side Story pivotal

Melody

intervals 4ths and 5ths

leitmotifs Glinda and Elphaba

unlimited theme from over the rainbow

vocalisation ooh aah

chest voice, belting Fsharp

interval 3rd adds warmth

hexatonic 6 pitches

Tonality n Harmony

mixture major and minor

uncertain tonality and shifting harmonies

circle of 5ths

half dim chords 5th flattened

polytonal and augmented chords

Rhythm, Metre n Tempo

cross rhythms triplets against quavers

heavy percussion rhythmic emphasis

metrical shifting

slow chordal accompaniment

Structure

3 verses

chorus 4 times

verse chorus structure

Instrumentation

combines trad/classical and pop and percussion

uses unusual techniques, palm muting, chorus, delay

Texture

starts homophonic marcato chords

builds up from melody dom homophony to full polyphonic