An American Song Cycle: A Performance Guide to <em>The Rim of Love</em> by Andrea Clearfield

Philadelphia-based American female composer Andrea Clearfield (b. 1960) arranged the cantata The Rim of Love into a song cycle for soprano and piano, featuring poetry written by Manfred Fischbeck (1940–2021). Fischbeck and Clearfield met in 1985 while both on faculty at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where they cultivated a lifelong creative partnership and friendship, along with being romantic partners for 20 years. Clearfield has composed over 170 works, including opera, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, chorus, and orchestra. In 2005, the nonprofit mentoring program Astral Artists, based out of Philadelphia, commissioned Clearfield to compose The Rim of Love, to be premiered on March 31st, 2006, at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The premiere included soprano Disella Larusdotter with the orchestra Symphony in C, conducted by Rossen Milanov. Clearfield arranged the cantata into a song cycle for soprano and piano the same year. The Rim of Love for soprano and piano is a four-movement song cycle featuring the poems "CLIFF," "CANYON," "EDGE," and "RIM." The document analyzes the unique thematic motifs, text painting, and interpersonal relationship Clearfield has with the poetry and how, as a composer, she was able to bring her experiences with Fischbeck, detailed in his poetry, to musical life. This connection makes the song cycle autobiographical, as Clearfield reflected on her real-life experiences to create the motifs, melodies, and harmonies. Clearfield intertwines her motivic "golden nuggets" into the dense interpretation of each song within the cycle.Advisor: Jamie Reimer