To Dance on Sands takes its title from the following passage in Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona: For Orpheus' lute was strung with poets' sinews, Whose golden touch could soften steel and stones, Make tigers tame and huge leviathans Forsake unsounded deeps to dance on sands. The music was inspired by the evocative images which Shakespeare invents in homage to the power of music. To Dance on Sands opens with a simple melody, almost a lullaby, for solo cello. The melody is joined by an increasingly complex accompaniment which, after a brief respite, takes on a life of its own and becomes the basis of an extended fast section dominated by pizzicato sounds and a series of playful ostinati. The music becomes more and more vigourous until it reaches a very fast and highly energetic climax. The piece ends with a reminiscence - this time on multiple celli - of the melody with which the piece began.