Clara Edwards (April 17, 1880 – January 17, 1974) was an American singer, pianist, and composer of

art songs An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such song ...

. She also used the pseudonym Bernard Haigh.

Biography

She was born Clara Gerlich in

Decoria Township, Blue Earth County, Minnesota Decoria Township is a township in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,104 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Decoria Township, organized in 1867, was named for a ...

. She received her education from the Mankato State Normal School and the Cosmopolitan School of Music in Chicago.Grattan, p. 12 She married physician John Milton Edwards before finishing her degree, and the couple moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where she continued musical studies and had a daughter. In Europe she prepared for a career as a singer, and gave concerts in both the United States and Europe before moving to New York City in 1914. Two years later her husband died, leaving her a single mother in New York city with no steady income. Out of financial necessity, Edwards began her career as a composer and songwriter in the 1920s,Villamil, p. 153 joining the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

) in 1925. She toured in

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

at about the same time, and organized the

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...

Concert Company in 1934. She often collaborated with

Jack Lawrence Jack Lawrence may refer to: * Jack Lawrence (songwriter) (1912–2009), American songwriter * Jack Lawrence (artist) (born 1975), British comic book artist and animator * Jack Lawrence (bluegrass) (born 1953), American bluegrass guitarist * Jack Law ...

, but also wrote many of the lyrics to her own songs.

Music

Edwards composed over 100 works and published over 60 songs. Several of her songs are sacred, and she wrote choral arrangements for some of them. She also composed music for solo piano, for children's marionette plays and animated films. Her songs have been recorded and issued on CD and used in film soundtracks and animations. Her songs were "quickly taken up by publishers", and many famous singers performed them, including soprano

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic lyric coloratura soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an op ...

and baritones

John Charles Thomas John Charles Thomas (September 6, 1891December 13, 1960) was an American opera, operetta and concert baritone. Biography John Charles Thomas was born on September 6, 1891, in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a Methodist minister of ...

and

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 75 ...

. They also became more successful when performed on the popular radio show ''

The Bell Telephone Hour ''The Bell Telephone Hour'', also known as ''The Telephone Hour'', is a concert series broadcast on NBC Radio Network from April 29, 1940 to June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in classical and ...

''. They are "distinguished for their tasteful and truly lovely melodies" and considered some of the "best of the ballad style concert song . They "successfully blended the styles of

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

and the sentimental popular ballad". Perhaps her most successful song was "

With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair" is a song composed by Clara Edwards (composer), Clara Edwards, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence (songwriter), Jack Lawrence. First published in 1930, it became a hit a decade later. A known recording by Kay K ...

", with text by

. First published in 1930, it became a hit a decade later. Two of her other well-known songs are " By the Bend of the River" and "Into the Night"; the latter is frequently used by

voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in sing ...

s as a training piece, and is included in several song anthologies. She died in New York City.

Published songs

published by G. Schirmer unless noted *After (A Song of Contrasts), 1927 *All Thine Own, Carl Fischer, 1935 *At Twilight, 1944 *At Your Window, 1951 *Awake! Arise! (a Song for Easter), Oliver Ditson, 1927 *Awake, Beloved!, 1925 *A Benediction, 1927 *Birds (text by Moira O'Neill), 1958 *Bring Back the Days, Oliver Ditson, 1945 * By the Bend of the River, 1927 *Can this be Summer? (A Song of Longing), 1926 *Clementine, 1927 *Come, Love, the Long Day Closes (A Song of Devotion), 1928 *Cradle Song *The Day's Begun, 1930 *Dedication (Sacred Song), 1961 *Dusk at Sea (text by Thomas S. Jones), Jack Mills Inc., 1923 *The Eastern Heavens are all aglow (Christmas Song), 1927 *Evening Song, 1934 *Every One Sang (A song of exultation) (text by S. Sassoon), 1921 *Fear Ye Not, O Israel (Sacred Song), 1942 *The Fisher's Widow (text by

Arthur Symons Arthur William Symons (28 February 186522 January 1945) was a British poet, critic, translator and magazine editor. Life Born in Milford Haven, Wales, to Cornish parents, Symons was educated privately, spending much of his time in France an ...

), 1929 *Forward We March, Galaxy Music Corp., 1940 *Gipsy Life, 1932 *I Bring you lilies from my Garden,

Oliver Ditson Oliver Ditson (October 20, 1811 – December 21, 1888) was an American businessman and founder of Oliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century. Early life and career Oliver Ditson was born in Bos ...

, 1927 *I Dream of You, 1952 *In the Moonlight, 1951 *Into the Night (text by the composer), 1939 *I've Lived and Loved, Unknown publisher, 1941 *Joy (text by T. Hollingsworth), 1943 *Lady Moon (text by Thekla Hollingsworth),

, 1927 *Little Shepherd's Song (13th Century melody) (text by William Alexander Percy), Jack Mills Inc., 1952 *Lonesome (text by N. R. Eberhart), 1926 *The Lord is Exalted (Sacred), 1940 *Love Came to Me *A Love Song,

, 1945 *Morning Serenade (A Reveille) (text by Madison Julius Cawein), 1928 *My Homeland, 1934 *My Little Brown Nest by the Sea (text by T. Hollingsworth), Jack Mills Inc., 1923 *My Shrine (Wedding Song), 1948 *O Come to Me *O Magic Night of Love, 1927 *Ol' Jim, 1952 *Out of the Dusk (A Reverie), 1927 *A Prayer (Sacred), 1932 *The Snow, 1962 *Sometimes at Close of Day (A Pensive Song), 1925 *Song of my Soul *Song of the Brooklet (text by V. McDonald), 1932 *Spain (España), 1929 *Stars of the Night, Sing Softly (text by T. Hollingsworth), 1929 *'Tis Enough (text by Kenneth Rand), Jack Mills Inc., 1923 *To a Little Child, 1954 *To Stars and You *To Thee, Divine Reedemer, 1948 *The Twenty-Seventh Psalm (The Lord is My Light), 1938 *We Walked in the Garden, 1939 *When I am Gone, Beloved *When I Behold, 1929 *When Jesus Walked on Galilee (Sacred), 1928Included in the popular ''Fifty-Two Sacred Songs You Like to Sing'', published by G. Schirmer. *When the Sun Calls the Lark, Oliver Ditson, 1929 *When You Stand by your Window, 1944 *The Wild Rose Blooms, 1940 *With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair (text by

), 1930, reissued Paramount Music Corp., 1940 *A Yesterday *Your Picture,

Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

, 1952

Published piano solos

published by G. Schirmer unless noted * By the Bend of the River (Barcarolle), arr. by Carl Deis *Cloud Ways *Nodding Flowers *The Rocking Chair *The Swing *The Waves

Published choral arrangements

published by G. Schirmer unless noted *Awake! Arise! (Easter Anthem) (arr. by William Stickles), mixed voices, 1958 * By the Bend of the River, multiple arrangements *Clementine, women's voices *Come, Love, the Long Day Closes, men's voices *Dedication (text by John Oxenham), mixed voices, 1960 *The Eastern Heaves are all Aglow (arr. by William Stickles), mixed voices, 1962 *The Herder's Song, women's voices, 1946 *Into the Night, multiple arrangements *I Will Lift Mine Eyes, mixed voices *The Lord is My Light, mixed voices, 1940 *A Prayer, mixed voiced *Sometimes at Close of Day, men's voices *A Song of Joy, women's voices *Song of the Brooklet, women's voices *The Twenty-Seventh Psalm, mixed voices *When I Behold, mixed voices *When Jesus Walked on Galilee (arr. Carl Deis), mixed voices, 1951

Footnotes

References

*. *. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Clara 1880 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American classical composers American women classical composers People from Mankato, Minnesota 20th-century American women composers