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