A Masque (short for Masquerade) has been defined by Historians as 'A revel in which Mummers or masked folk come with torches blazing into the festive hall and call upon the company to dance and dice'. The chaos of this dramatic dance is depicted in this Masque by Hesketh. The main theme is bravura and is often present, in the background. The form of the piece is a simple scherzo-trio-scherzo. Colorful scoring (upper wind solos, trumpet and horn solos alternating with full bodied tuttis) with a dash of wildness may tease both player and listener to let their hair down a little!
Masque has been transcribed for wind band by Kenneth Hesketh from his Scherzo for Orchestra.