PALE MOON IN A VERY BLUE SKY is a raga for solo instrument and audio soundscape, composed in the spring of 2020,
dedicated to flutist Laura Lentz.

One early morning in the Dutch Mountains, ( de Utrechtse Heuvelrug) I saw a pale moon in a very blue sky, unspoilt by chemtrails, because Amsterdam Airport nearby was closed due to the corona pandemic. I was moved and inspired by this natural beauty and recorded a long improvisation in my studio, which I later condensed into a substantial composition, which sounded like an Indian raga, because of the melodic scale and the ambient drone I added to it, which included sampled Asian instruments. I imagined the Indian bansuri flute to be an ideal solo instrument, but then Laura Lentz explored the piece on her alto flute, which appeared to be the perfect instrument for Pale Moon. Laura also proposed to expand the piece by including an 8 bar improvisation section. Sound engineer Marc Webster recorded Laura’s briljant performance of Pale Moon at his Blue on Blue Recording Studio in Rochester NY. They released the recording on an EP called ‘Jacob’s Triptych’ along with 2 other flute pieces: Loudly and Clearly and Lipstick.

Pale Moon is available for:
– alto flute
– Bb clarinet or soprano sax
– violin, oboe or other C instruments.

There are 2 versions of Pale Moon:
Duration version 1: 10:25
Duration version 2: 11:08 ( with improvisation section )

Laura Lentz’ CD recording of Pale Moon: