Schwartz Defying Gravity Flashcards
What is a musical?
A play or film with music in a broadly popular style that generally includes some memorable hit songs
Where is defying gravity from?
Wicked, a musical first staged in the US in 2003
Who are the lyrics and words by?
Stephen Schwartz
Where in the musical is the piece from?
The act 1 finale
What form is it?
Verse-chorus form
What is recitative?
A type of vocal music that mimics the rhythms of human speech
State the different sections in order
Intro Verse 1 Chorus Verse 2 Chorus Bridge Chorus Varied reprise of intro Verse 3 Chorus Coda
Who is it scored for?
A 23 musician orchestra, the 4 woodwind musicians have to double on a variety of instruments
Name 5 of the instruments
6 brass a harp 2 electric guitar 3 keyboard synths 4 string parts drum kit timpani glockenspiel
What type of distortion do the electric guitars have on at points
Overdrive
What does the chordal writing for the low brass contrast with
the solo synth melody
What does the string tremomlo create?
Excitement
What is the drum fill?
A brief improvisation to fill the gap between vocal phrases
What sort of scales does the bass clarinet have
Descending scales
What does the cymbal roll announce in bar 122
A change of key
What does tutti mean?
Full band
When does tutti happen?
The climax at bar 135
What do the synth and glockenspiel do as Elphaba sings of flying high
play a high pitched ostinato
What vocal range is each part?
Glinda is a soprano
Elphaba is a mezzo-soprano
What is a mezzo soprano?
Lower than a soprano but not as low as an alto
Where does the coda come in?
The final bars and it is labelled ‘ensemble’
What does ‘colla voce’ mean
‘with the voice’, the band must follow the rhythm of the singers
What does the introduction compose of?
Recitative between Elphaba and Glinda, punctuated by chromatic stabs (loud detached chords). Elphaba mimics but a semi-tone lower
During the ‘Elphie listen to me’ part how is an unsettling tone created?
The juxtaposition of unrelated keys B major and F major
What is Glindas reasurence that Elphaba can still be with the wizard accompanied with?
Sustained harmonies in F major
What is ‘something has changed within me’ underpinned by
A sudden change of key to D major, the main key of the piece
How is Elphaba’s desire to break free from expectations characterised by the music
.Wide leaps initially accompanied by a nervous tremolo from violins
.Tempo tightens to allegro as it moves towards the chorus
.More angular leaps occur in the vocal line, many of which are triadic
.There’s a repeating accompaniment of three ascending quavers high above the vocal line
Where do the introductory chords from bars 32-33 return?
Bar 59 as a repeated accompaniment to Glindas accusation in crotchet triplets that Elphaba is having ‘delusions of grandeur’
How does Elphaba respond to being told she’s having ‘delusions of grandeur’?
Continues into the second verse at a faster tempo, with a firmly syncopated accompaniment
What happens to the key and tempo after the second verse?
It slows to moderato and the key changes to G major
What does the melody in bars 93-94 do?
Quotes the first seven pitches of the song ‘over the rainbow’ from ‘the wizard of oz’ (in the same universe as Wicked)
What is the ‘unlimited’ melody an example of?
A leitmotif, it reflects Elphaba’s growing confidence
What direction is there at the end of bar 99?
colla voce, it is the start of a short section of recitative
In the third chorus who sings what?
They begin together but Elphaba finishes it alone
Where does the introductory music from bar 32 return for the second time?
Bars 111-114, leading to a recitative based on the chromatic chords of the opening bars
What subtle change does shwartz make to the lyrics
He removes ‘now’ from the sarcastic ‘i hope your happy now’ turning it into the affirmative ‘I hope your happy’ as they wish each other well
What happens after they wish each other well?
The tempo returns to allegro, the intro music from bars 32-33 returns, return of D major, an exciting orchestral build
How is the exciting orchestral build created
A crescendo on repeated quavers
What is special about the final verse?
Parts are sung an octave higher than previously
Describe the coda
Begins quietly and at a slower pace, quickly crescendos, Elphaba rises to her top notes, parts of the ensemble rush on stage and sing together ‘look at her! She’s wicked! Get her!’
What is Elphaba’s top note?
F# on ‘me’ in bar 167
Describe the general texture
Brief monophonic texture at the start but mainly melody and accompaniment
How do the two leads sing together?
Either in unison or alternately
Give an example of 2 part vocal writing
Parallel thirds in bars 125-128
Where is there a brief contrapuntal section
The final bars
O_______ figures occur in bars 80-87, 89-97, 103-109 and 152-159
Ostinato
Describe the overall tonality
D major for the verse and choruses, G major in the bridge passage
Wheres the chromatic writing and what does it create?
At the start and bars 115-131, it creates an ambiguous tone
What chords are commonly used?
Root position triads and sus chords
Any pedals?
Inner pedal on A bars 162-167, inverted pedal on D starting bar 168
What does rall mean
Rallentando, slowing down
What is the word setting mainly?
Syllabic
What is the meter?
A minim beat (2/2 or 3/2) until the 4/4 in bar 88, 2/2 returns in bar 115
What rhythmic technique plays an important role in defying gravity?
Syncopation
What is Elphaba’s vocal line mainly?
Triadic style
What do the long notes and wide leaps demonstrate?
Elphaba’s new found confidence
What sort of intervals feature prominently in the vocal line?
4ths and 5ths
Give an example of a leap of an 11th
Bars 39-40
Give an example of a leap of a 12th
Bar 140
What is a title hook?
A hook is a melodic fragment designed to catch the ear of the listener, it’s called a title hook when it has the words of the title in it
What is Defying Gravity’s title hook?
The melody line for ‘try defying gravity’
