Paul Osterfield

ICE MOON

flute quartet (about 8 minutes)

[flute 1 doubles on piccolo, flute 3 doubles on bass flute, flute 4 plays alto flute]

On September 15, 2017, the Cassini spacecraft was directed into the atmosphere of Saturn, burning up the spacecraft. Why, after a month short of twenty years in space, was Cassini destroyed? The spacecraft was almost out of fuel, and NASA, ESA, and ASI didn't want Cassini to crash into one of Saturn's moons, such as Enceladus, that has conditions for possible life.

When I was struggling in the early sketching stages of my flute quartet, I heard the news of the impending demise of Cassini, my mind latched on to Enceladus, which was mentioned several times on Ready Jet Go!, a television show that my daughter watched regularly at the time. In one of the episodes, the parents of the main character argue over which ice moon in the solar system is the best: Europa, on of Jupiter's moons, or Enceladus. Suddenly, the title Ice Moon flashed in my head, together with beginnings of a couple themes and the structure of the composition. Ice Moon (2017) represents my imagination of what it may be like to be on Enceladus and see the geysers among the moon's snowy icy terrain.

Score and parts available for purchase (please email me at paul@paulosterfield.com):



		ICE MOON flute quartet (about 8 minutes) [flute 1 doubles on piccolo, flute 3 doubles on bass flute, flute 4 plays alto flute] On September 15, 2017, the Cassini spacecraft was directed into the atmosphere of Saturn, burning up the spacecraft. Why, after a month short of twenty years in space, was Cassini destroyed? The spacecraft was almost out of fuel, and NASA, ESA, and ASI didn't want Cassini to crash into one of Saturn's moons, such as Enceladus, that has conditions for possible life. When I was struggling in the early sketching stages of my flute quartet, I heard the news of the impending demise of Cassini, my mind latched on to Enceladus, which was mentioned several times on Ready Jet Go!, a television show that my daughter watched regularly at the time. In one of the episodes, the parents of the main character argue over which ice moon in the solar system is the best: Europa, on of Jupiter's moons, or Enceladus. Suddenly, the title Ice Moon flashed in my head, together with beginnings of a couple themes and the structure of the composition. Ice Moon (2017) represents my imagination of what it may be like to be on Enceladus and see the geysers among the moon's snowy icy terrain. Score and parts available for purchase (please email me at paul@paulosterfield.com):