Folie à Deux, from the French for “madness shared by two,” is a single-movement double concerto for solo baritone saxophone, solo percussion, and small concert band.
Folie à Deux begins with a saxophone trio playing the legato, odd-metered first theme. After some timpani interplay, a short flute and oboe duo, and melodic non-pitched percussion, the baritone saxophone returns with the heavily-articulated second theme, which is dangerously similar to the first theme. The two themes begin to play against each other, but as the piece continues, both themes are interrupted by short, aggressive motifs. The themes have no other choice but to become more and more like each other until neither knows exactly where it belongs. In the end, after the loud confrontation and the soft, high cry of the baritone saxophone, we hear the first theme quiet, solemn, and no longer in the solo instruments.