 As a composer, Shaw's work included choral works, anthems, hymn tunes and arrangements, a ballet called "All at Sea", chamber pieces, orchestral works, and other songs, including part-songs and unison songs.Several descants by Shaw, Alan Gray and Ralph Vaughan Williams appear in "Songs of Praise", one of the earliest hymnals to include such work.Shaw was an enthusiast for folk music and the work of Henry Purcell, and one of his aims was to restore the dignity of Christian music.