Composed in 2007 for the Leeds Lieder festival, Hesketh's Shimmerwords and Idle Songs for soprano and piano is a 18 minute song cycle made up of six songs in four sections. The text is taken from a collection of Chinese poetry from the 8th and 9th centuries which cover various subjects from nature and travel to life itself. The music is both colourful and direct with an abundance of humour and clarity.

I Traveling Moon - II Enjoying Pine and Bamboo - III Three Commentaries: A Song of the Palace · The Philosopher · The Red Cockatoo - IV Sitting Idle at the North Window