"Earth Shout"  was written in response to a request from the Frankland String Quartet for a 10-minute piece, preferably with a folk music connection, for inclusion in a Berwick Music Society concert. I had in fact already written the first 2 pages of a piece for string quartet and chosen its  title when Sophie's email arrived, but I often integrate folk song melodies in my music and liked the idea of adding this new dimension. The tune I chose was a well-known Scottish love song: "Ca' the Yowes to the Knowes". Its pastoral setting seemed perfect for the theme of my piece, and I soon noticed that its first 3 notes (transposed) were the same as the first 3 notes of the music I had already written.   The piece is written in a single movement and has no specific programme, though the listener may feel that the ending is more like a lament than a shout.