Birtwistle's Earth Dances, from 1986, represents his return to orchestral writing after a 14-year hiatus. There is a casual relationship in the work between the sonic events–in particular the "strata" of registral placement–and the layers of matter in the geology of Earth. Birtwistle's subtle ear for timbre is at work here, as he creates a free-flowing, evocative soundscape of considerable proportions; the work is a single movement, about 40 minutes in length.

In the excerpt, from the middle of the work, one can virtually sense the churning, bubbling essence of this massive, violent rock hurtling its way through space.