S Schwartz: ‘Defying Gravity’ (from the album

of the cast recording of Wicked)

(for component 3: Appraising)

Background information and performance circumstances

Stephen Schwartz is an American music theatre composer and lyricist. Born in 1948 in New
York, he studied piano and composition at the Julliard School of Music while still at high school,
and later graduated in drama from Carnegie Mellon University. It was in 1972 that he had his
first success with the musical Godspell. In the 1990s he collaborated with the composer Alan
Menkin on the scores of many Disney animated films such as Pocahontas and The Hunchback
of Notre Dame and wrote songs for Dreamwork’s first animated film, The Prince of Egypt. He
returned to this collaboration with Menkin in 2007 to write the lyrics for the Disney hit film
Enchanted. It was, however, in 2003 when he took on the role of both composer and lyricist for
Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz, a musical based on the novel Wicked: The Life
and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. This is an alternative version of the Wizard of Oz
and tells the story from the point of view of the witches, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West)
and Glinda, the Good Witch. Schwartz won a Grammy Award for his work as composer, lyricist
and producer of Wicked.
‘Defying Gravity’ is the finale song for the first act, when Elphaba discovers that the Wizard of
Oz is not the heroic figure she had originally believed him to be. Realising this, Elphaba vows to
do everything in her power to fight the Wizard and his sinister plans. She sings of how she
wants to live without limits, going against the rules that others have set for her. It was originally
written in the key of D♭ major but has been transposed to D major in the Anthology.

Music theatre integrates songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance within a popular idiom.
Musicals are an extended piece of music theatre.

Note: These set works guides are Pearson’s interpretation of the set works and every effort has been made to ensure
these are appropriate for use in the classroom.

There may be other interpretations which are also valid and any such differences would not be considered errors, or
require any updates to the guides.
Performing forces and their handling
‘Defying Gravity’ is a duet for the characters Elphaba and Glinda with some spoken dialogue
in addition to the singing. The two characters either deliver their text spoken, half sung/spoken
with music notated on the stave with crosses instead of note heads or entirely sung.
These two singers require extremely versatile voices with a large range of just under two
octaves, from G below middle C to F.

Wicked uses a large orchestra: woodwind section (including additional instruments such as
piccolo, bass clarinet and cor anglais), brass and string sections with a harp and three
keyboards. It includes a wide variety of percussion instruments: drum kit, tubular bells and
timpani. Electric guitars create a modern sound and in this song they are required with over-
drive, a distortion effect.

The score in the anthology is a short score or orchestral reduction and the main instruments
with solos are labelled. The orchestra is used to good dramatic effect.
 The brass section plays homophonic chordal music in an almost fanfare-like manner (e.g.
bar 20).
 Strings use tremolo effect to add tension (e.g. bar 34).
 The closed hi-hat of the drum kit plays constant crotchet rhythms in bar 51 to add rhythmic
momentum.
 There is a cymbal roll to add excitement as the piece moves into a key change (e.g. bar
122).
 The full band plays at the climax of the song at bar 135.
 Synthesisers and glockenspiel are used to good effect with the high magical-sounding
repeated quaver accompaniment to the chorus.
 Tubular bells give an ethereal sonority at bar 147.

Melody

 The text setting is syllabic throughout with rhythms moving in a speech-like manner.
 There is vocalisation at the end in bar 175 to the word ‘aah’.
 The melody starts in a conjunct/stepwise manner.
 Bars 6 and 7 show an ascending sequence.
 The verse and chorus combine conjunct and wide angular leaps in the melodic line.
 Leaps often feature a rising perfect fifth (e.g. bar 34). There are some exceptionally large
leaps such as a compound perfect fourth (e.g. bars 39–40) and a compound perfect fifth
(e.g. bars 140–141).

Note: These set works guides are Pearson’s interpretation of the set works and every effort has been made to ensure
these are appropriate for use in the classroom.

There may be other interpretations which are also valid and any such differences would not be considered errors, or
require any updates to the guides.
Structure
There is a distinct verse–chorus form.
Verse: bar 34, bar 63, bar 135.
Chorus: bar 50, bar 79, bar 103, bar 151.
Within that structure this piece has multiple sections which are defined by tempo, contrasting
moods and melodic material.

Bars 1–19 Free tempo Duet between Glinda and Elphaba with a combination of
(colla voce) spoken dialogue and singing. Orchestral chord stabs at
recitative-like start with sparse monophonic moments, accompaniment
becomes chordal and sustained

Bars 20–48 Andante Homophonic chordal opening moving through different

major keys. Legato, conjunct melody. The verse contains
Verse bar 34 tremolo strings with dissonant harmony for
accompaniment

Bar 49–87 Allegro The title hook leaping melody is sung over broken chord
accompaniment and driving hi-hat rhythms. Next Glinda
Chorus bar 50 sings a crotchet triplet-based melody before Elphaba
Verse bar 63 takes over with a syncopated version of the verse, which
leads into the chorus
Chorus bar 79

Bar 88–102 Moderato A contrasting section in the new key of G major with both
characters singing a new melody in unison over
semiquaver accompaniment

Bar 103–110 Allegro Return to D major for the chorus sung by both characters,
opening in unison with strong piano accompaniment
Chorus bar 103

Bar 111–128 Andante Homophonic chordal music from earlier which leads into
the recitative-like music of the opening

Bar 129–161 Allegro Climax of the song with full orchestra and loud dynamic.
Opens with the homophonic chordal music which leads
Verse bar 135
into an extended version of the verse at a higher register
Chorus bar 151 and with developed melodic and rhythmic ideas. There is
a reprise of the chorus

Bar 162–177 Andante to Build up to full tutti finale, in B minor at bar 168 with
Maestoso Elphaba, Glinda, ensemble chorus and orchestra in
counterpoint with different musical lines and lyrics.

Note: These set works guides are Pearson’s interpretation of the set works and every effort has been made to ensure
these are appropriate for use in the classroom.

There may be other interpretations which are also valid and any such differences would not be considered errors, or
require any updates to the guides.
Texture
 The opening shows a sparse texture with punctuating instrumental chord stabs (e.g. bar 1)
with some monophonic unaccompanied bars (e.g. bar 3).
 In the verses there is a melody and accompaniment or melody-dominated homophony
texture where the singer is accompanied by chords in the orchestra.
 There are homophonic chordal moments (e.g. bar 132).
 Ostinato accompaniment at bar 88 with repeated semiquavers.
 Elphaba and Glinda usually sing separately but sometimes sing together in unison (e.g. bar
101) or in harmony such as thirds (e.g. bar 127).
 The ending is contrapuntal with three different musical ideas with different lyrics (e.g. bar
168).

Tonality
 In the opening the tonality is ambiguous with chromatic movement and unrelated chord
progressions.
 It is in D major.
 At bar 20 it is in B major for two bars before arriving in F major at bar 22. At bar 32 it arrives
in the tonic key of D major for the verse. It remains in D major until bar 88 when it moves to
G major. In bar 103 it returns to D major. At bar 115 it returns to the chromatic melody of the
opening. At bar 132 it returns to the tonic key of D major. For the final Maestoso section, bar
168 it is in B minor until we finish on a chord of D major.

Harmony
 Chords are in root position.
 Chord progressions are often unrelated and in the opening we can see shifts downwards in
parallel semitones. For example, a D chord to a C♯ minor chord to a C major chord.
 There is some use of dissonance (e.g. bar 30).
 At the end there is a pedal at bar 168.

Tempo, metre and rhythm

There are numerous tempo changes through this song and they are important to the overall
structure.
Bar 1 Free tempo
Bar 20 Andante
Bar 49 Allegro
Bar 88 Moderato
Bar 103 Allegro
Bar 111 Andante
Bar 129 Allegro
Bar 162 Andante
Bar 168 Maestoso

Note: These set works guides are Pearson’s interpretation of the set works and every effort has been made to ensure
these are appropriate for use in the classroom.

There may be other interpretations which are also valid and any such differences would not be considered errors, or
require any updates to the guides.
 There are rallentandos used particularly at the end of sections to go from Allegro to
Andante. Sometimes there are ralls followed by an a tempo. There is also a rall used at the
end of the piece.
 The time signature changes from 3/2 triple time to 2/2 duple time in the opening section
and remains there until bar 88 where it changes to 4/4 quadruple time. At bar 115 it returns
to 2/2 duple time.
 Syncopation is frequent throughout (e.g. bars 67–70).
 Dotted rhythms are used throughout. For example, in bar 82 on the word ‘gra-vi-ty’.
 Triplets are used. These are both quaver triplets (e.g. bar 96) and crotchet triplets (e.g. bar
60).
 Rhythms are predominantly crotchet and quaver based, although there are some notes of
longer duration particularly at the ends of phrases.
 Rests are often used to break up phrases.
 Each phrase starts with an off-beat entry after a crotchet rest (e.g. bar 15).
 Pause marks or fermatas are used to lengthen and give freedom to longer rhythms, for
example at the end (e.g. bars 174 and 176).

Note: These set works guides are Pearson’s interpretation of the set works and every effort has been made to ensure
these are appropriate for use in the classroom.

There may be other interpretations which are also valid and any such differences would not be considered errors, or
require any updates to the guides.