US composer defending old times in country dwelling (7)
I believe the answer is:
cottage
'country dwelling' is the definition.
(rural residence)
'us composer defending old times' is the wordplay.
'us composer' becomes 'cage' (I've seen this in another clue).
'defending' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are defended).
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'times' becomes 'tt' (two abbreviations for time).
'o'+'tt'='ott'
'cage' enclosing 'ott' is 'COTTAGE'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for cottage that I've seen before include "Country residence" , "Small house with a single storey" , "Small house, in the country say" , "Small living space" , "Small place" .)