scherzo
\ SKERT-soh \ , noun;
1.Music . a movement or passage of light or playful character, especially as the second or third movement of a sonata or a symphony.
Quotes:
Placed, like Beethoven's scherzo , between the tragic "funeral march" of Maxi and Fortunata (book two) and the final disposition of the novel's serious themes (book four), the third volume offers a change of pace and a bit of comic relief.
-- Vernon A. Chamberlin, "Galdós and Beethoven" , 1977
When you play that Chopin scherzo at the end, you're going to bring down the house!
-- Gail Godwin, "The Finishing School" , 1984
Origin:
Scherzo is ultimately from Langobardic, a language from Lombardy. It came to English through the Italian word scherzare for "joke."
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