Other Features

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Structure & Melody

The overall structure is an extended verse/chorus form.

Structure

The overall structure is an extended verse/chorus form which includes two dialogue sections between the Witches, linking passages between the sections, 2 bridges, 4 choruses and a coda!
The repeat of the introduction section is used to show how Elphaba and Glinda have resolved their differences.

Melody

Throughout the entire musical there are a number of leitmotifs used.
Leitmotifs are musical phrases that represent a thing, character, place or emotion.
In Defying Gravity these are typically based around 5 pitches with the most common notes being D and A.

Melody cont.

Bar 71-79 is hexatonic which means that it only uses 6 notes of the scale.
The marking in the score given to the orchestra is 'colla voce' which means 'with the voice' and is a direction to the musicians to follow the singers as they move from spoken to sung parts of the piece.

Recitative

The spoken parts are the recitative section which helps to move the story forward.
(Recitative is where the singer speak/sings the story to the audience).

Instrumentation, Texture & Harmony

Schwartz uses a typical classical orchestra with the addition of popular music instruments such as the electric guitar, drum kit, and synthesiser.

Instrumentation

Schwartz uses a typical classical orchestra with the addition of popular music instruments such as the electric guitar, drum kit, and synthesiser.
There are also unusual additions to the percussion section which include chimes, finger cymbals, crotales (a tuned percussion instrument which looks like a rack of small cymbals) and a nut rattle.

Texture

The piece starts with chords played by the orchestra, which follow the vocal lines from Glinda and Elphaba.
This is a melody driven homophonic texture (melody and accompaniment) that gradually builds throughout the song to a polyphonic texture (many different sounds overlapping each other.)
Schwartz uses different textures throughout the piece to convey the different feeling and emotions within the text.

Harmony

Major and minor keys are used throughout the piece.
The first 6 bars are tonally ambiguous as the harmony keeps moving around.

Illustrative background for Key ?? "content

Key

Each Witch has an initial key:
- For Glinda it’s the key of D major.
- For Elphaba it is Db major.

Marcato

The chords at the start of the song are played marcato and are strongly accented.
- Marcato means to be played louder, more forcefully and marked.

Chords

Schwartz uses:
- Augmented chords in bar 7 (where the 5th degree is raised).
- Diminished chords in bar 19 (where the 5th degree is flattened).
In bar 69 you can hear a chord progression based around the circle of fifths where the chords that follow either fall in 5ths or rise in 4ths.

1Musical Elements

1.1Organisation of Pitch

1.1.1Melodic Pitch

1.1.2Melodic Devices

1.1.3Harmonic Pitch

1.1.4Harmonic Devices

1.1.5Harmonic Progressions

1.2Tonality

1.2.1Major & Minor Tonality

1.2.2End of Topic Test - Musical Elements

2Instrumental Music 1700–1820

2.1Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major

2.1.1Concerto No. 5 in D Major

2.1.2Structure & Melody

2.1.3Instrumentation & Texture

2.1.4Harmony

2.1.5Wider Listening

2.2Beethoven: Sonata ‘Pathétique’

2.2.1Piano Sonata No. 8

2.2.2Structure & Melody

2.2.3Other Features

2.2.4Wider Listening

2.2.5End of Topic Test - Instrumental Music 1700–1820

3Vocal Music

3.1Purcell: Music for a While

3.1.1Music for a While

3.1.2Other Features

3.1.3Wider Listening

3.2Queen: Killer Queen

3.2.1Killer Queen

3.2.2Other Features

3.2.3Wider Listening

3.2.4End of Topic Test - Vocal Music

4Music for Stage & Screen

4.1Schwartz: Defying Gravity

4.1.1Defying Gravity

4.1.2Other Features

4.1.3Wider Listening

4.2Williams: Star Wars Episode IV

4.2.1A New Hope

4.2.2Structure & Melody

4.2.3Other Features

4.2.4Wider Listening

4.2.5End of Topic Test - Music for Stage & Screen

5Fusions

5.1Afro Celt Sound System: Release

5.1.1Release

5.1.2Other Features

5.1.3Wider Listening

5.2Spalding: Samba Em Preludio

5.2.1Samba Em Preludio

5.2.2Structure & Melody

5.2.3Other Features

5.2.4Wider Listening

5.2.5End of Topic Test - Fusions

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