Scherzo Partitions

A scherzo is a type of musical piece, usually part of a larger multi-movement work such as a symphony or sonata. The term has had many connotations, with its first documented uses being during the baroque: as the term scherzo roughly means 'joke' in Italian, some light-hearted, playful madrigals were called 'scherzos'. The common form of the scherzo grew out of the minuet, retaining its time signature and binary+trio form, buy eventually replacing it as a middle movement in large scale works like symphonies, quartets, etc.