Scherzo means joke – the form comes from the minuet but has broadened to embrace a wide range of styles. The organ is equaled only by the orchestra in its ability to express the greatest of emotions, but it can tease and smile as well as roar. In this exquisite example by France’s organist-composer Maurice Duruflé, delicate brush-strokes create a mood of lightness and gaiety that floats to rest at the end like a bird closing its wings and falling asleep.

Program notes © 2009, Dame Gillian Weir