Low male voice repertoire in contemporary musical theatre: a studio and performance guide of selected songs 1996-2020 by

Musical Content 
This piece begins in cut time functioning similarly to a classical arioso. The stepwise and scalar 
melody begins over quick moving eighth notes in the treble register of the orchestration. The harmonic 
rhythm of this piece is quite slow, staying with the same bass root two measures at a time. At the end of 
each phrase the harmonic movement speeds up with movement in half notes toward a half cadence, 
underneath each “sanctuary” sung by Frollo.
7
As one approaches the song’s first true verse, an interlude 
moves the piece through several key centers before using an augmented dominant A
♭7 chord to transition 
into C# minor. The following duet features reserved dynamics, almost as if Frollo’s message is one 
backed by compassion or empathy (juxtaposed with greater dynamic levels in the show which occur for 
Frollo in moments of outward anger or lust). Quasimodo has brief and minimal interjections in between 
his master’s phrases; the duet’s form is a two-verse strophic piece for Frollo. 
Table 8.4. Compositional sections of duet prior to "Out There", mm. 1-42 
Measures Tonal 
Center/Key 
Compositional Notes 
Lyric 
Subtext 
Form 
mm. 1-14 
C# minor 
Phrases rarely arrive on roots or chord 
tones at downbeats, operating either in 
suspension or on a ninth. Arrivals on 
chord tones are declamatory and 
unexpected, like “fear” (m. 10). 
To teach 
A 
mm. 16-17 G# 
Pedal tone as harmonies move toward 
a dominant seventh chord. 
mm. 17-35 C# minor 
Second verse has modified melody 
which allows Quasimodo’s 
interjections to function without 
overlapping Frollo’s range in m. 21, 
m. 31 and m. 33.
To 
undermine, 
to 
destabilize 
A’ 
mm. 35-42 C# minor to 
C major 
Transition using repeated moving 
eighth patterns (open sixth intervals of 
5 and 3 chord tones) and E as the 
common tone across keys. 
Interlude/Intro 
of “Out There” 
solo 
7
Ibid. 

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76 
 
Sources: Data adapted from Alan Menken, “Out There” in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Milwaukee, WI: Hal 
Leonard, 1996): 23-27.