Official site of composer Andrea Clearfield. Biography, list of works with audio, score samples, reviews and program notes, photographs, upcoming performances.
Scored for: flute, harp and string trio Duration: 17 min. Premiere: 5/7/09 First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA Commissioned by: Wally A. Loeb for Mimi Stillman and the Dolce Suono Ensemble Published by: Self-published, Angelfire Press
Contact Andrea Clearfield for score and parts:
Andrea with Dolce Suono Ensemble after the premiere of Rhapsodie
“In Rhapsodie for Flute, Harp, and String Trio, Andrea Clearfield displays her skill at creating a compelling sonic atmosphere through fresh timbres and textures. I commissioned Andrea to write this work because of her colorful, evocative musical voice. In Rhapsodie she has made an important contribution to the chamber music repertoire. The musicians of the Dolce Suono Ensemble and I find the work rewarding to perform and our audiences have consistently responded to it enthusiastically.”
- Mimi Stillman
WATCH
REVIEWS
Dolce Suono Ensemble performs Rhapsodie Photo by Pete Checchia
“Andrea Clearfield’s Rhapsodie made its impact through brightly invented color and sonic weaving… the work celebrated richness of sound and intriguing development. After bold flute outbursts, the work moved into a quiet summation that enforced its logical strength as well as completing its wide horizon of color.”
Daniel Webster, The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 11, 2009
“… the composition…had an organic evolution of visceral emotions, varying from the noble and brooding to the primitive and disturbing…evoking fire and energy mixed with dark and mysterious places of a mind contemplating its own nature.”
“Dolce Suono presents a program that ranges from Mozart to Clearfield and glows from start to finish. The newest item on Dolce Suono’s chamber program at the Art Museum was Andrea Clearfield’s Rhapsodie for Flute, Harp, and String Trio, a commission that Dolce Suono premiered earlier this year. Clearfield’s Rhapsodie is more structured than her title suggests, with an overall form built around a single theme. It’s more intense than the Roussel, but it ends with a final serene moment. It’s another addition to a catalogue that has made Clearfield one of Philadelphia’s most popular composers. ”
Andrea with members of Dolce Suono after Rhapsodie performance at the Art Museum of Philadelphia
Rhapsodie was commissioned by Wally Loeb for Mimi Stillman and Dolce Suono Ensemble, Mimi Stillman, Artistic Director. Ms. Stillman had suggested that the piece have a relationship to French music. Since I favored composers Debussy, Fauré and Ravel in my early years as a pianist, I was delighted to work with this parameter for the piece. The work was initially inspired by the melodic ornamentation in Debussy’s music, evocative harmonies of Ravel and the mingling colors and free atmosphere of Monet’s waterlily series and late works. Portions of the music are informed by my synesthesia (seeing colors to musical pitches and hearing musical notes to colors). When looking at the Monet paintings, certain harmonies and collections of pitches presented themselves.The piece is a ‘rhapsody’ in its true sense: organic in form with numerous musical materials woven together, rapidly shifting, often suggesting an improvisation. It departs from the traditional rhapsody in that the main theme, heard first in the flute (a 4-note motive followed by a rapidly ascending gesture), becomes the basis for variation throughout the piece. I am grateful to Yaddo, Ucross and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, who provided ideal sanctuaries for creative work; to Mimi Stillman for her artistic vision and consummate musicianship and to Wally Loeb for his generosity and support.
Rhapsodie
Andrea with commissioner Wally Loeb
Scored for: flute, harp and string trio
Duration: 17 min.
Premiere: 5/7/09 First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Commissioned by: Wally A. Loeb for Mimi Stillman and the Dolce Suono Ensemble
Published by: Self-published, Angelfire Press
Contact Andrea Clearfield for score and parts:
See preview score pages: RHAPSODIE SCORE EXCERPT (PDF)
LISTEN
QUOTE
Andrea with Dolce Suono Ensemble after the premiere of Rhapsodie
“In Rhapsodie for Flute, Harp, and String Trio, Andrea Clearfield displays her skill at creating a compelling sonic atmosphere through fresh timbres and textures. I commissioned Andrea to write this work because of her colorful, evocative musical voice. In Rhapsodie she has made an important contribution to the chamber music repertoire. The musicians of the Dolce Suono Ensemble and I find the work rewarding to perform and our audiences have consistently responded to it enthusiastically.”
- Mimi Stillman
WATCH
REVIEWS
Dolce Suono Ensemble performs Rhapsodie
Photo by Pete Checchia
“Andrea Clearfield’s Rhapsodie made its impact through brightly invented color and sonic weaving… the work celebrated richness of sound and intriguing development. After bold flute outbursts, the work moved into a quiet summation that enforced its logical strength as well as completing its wide horizon of color.”
Daniel Webster, The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 11, 2009
“… the composition…had an organic evolution of visceral emotions, varying from the noble and brooding to the primitive and disturbing…evoking fire and energy mixed with dark and mysterious places of a mind contemplating its own nature.”
Victor L. Schermer, broadstreetreview.com, May 12, 2009. Read the entire review: Dolce Suono’s ‘Rouge, blanc et bleu’
“Dolce Suono presents a program that ranges from Mozart to Clearfield and glows from start to finish. The newest item on Dolce Suono’s chamber program at the Art Museum was Andrea Clearfield’s Rhapsodie for Flute, Harp, and String Trio, a commission that Dolce Suono premiered earlier this year. Clearfield’s Rhapsodie is more structured than her title suggests, with an overall form built around a single theme. It’s more intense than the Roussel, but it ends with a final serene moment. It’s another addition to a catalogue that has made Clearfield one of Philadelphia’s most popular composers. ”
Tom Purdom, broadstreetreview.com, November 18, 2009. Read the entire review: Dolce Suono from Mozart to Clearfield
“…an intense, riveting piece.”
Tom Purdom, broadstreetreview.com, May 12, 2009
PROGRAM NOTES
Andrea with members of Dolce Suono after Rhapsodie performance at the Art Museum of Philadelphia
Rhapsodie was commissioned by Wally Loeb for Mimi Stillman and Dolce Suono Ensemble, Mimi Stillman, Artistic Director. Ms. Stillman had suggested that the piece have a relationship to French music. Since I favored composers Debussy, Fauré and Ravel in my early years as a pianist, I was delighted to work with this parameter for the piece. The work was initially inspired by the melodic ornamentation in Debussy’s music, evocative harmonies of Ravel and the mingling colors and free atmosphere of Monet’s waterlily series and late works. Portions of the music are informed by my synesthesia (seeing colors to musical pitches and hearing musical notes to colors). When looking at the Monet paintings, certain harmonies and collections of pitches presented themselves.The piece is a ‘rhapsody’ in its true sense: organic in form with numerous musical materials woven together, rapidly shifting, often suggesting an improvisation. It departs from the traditional rhapsody in that the main theme, heard first in the flute (a 4-note motive followed by a rapidly ascending gesture), becomes the basis for variation throughout the piece. I am grateful to Yaddo, Ucross and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, who provided ideal sanctuaries for creative work; to Mimi Stillman for her artistic vision and consummate musicianship and to Wally Loeb for his generosity and support.