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. Colourful 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', commissioned by the National Children's Orchestra in 1987.