No, not a literal dance.
Sometimes, a whole orchestra is too much. Alternatively, a piece for one instrument can sound a little lacking. In times like these, duets serve our needs best. Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Bassoon and Piano is an amazing romantic-period duet that blends the two instruments amazingly.
The piano starts the song out on a very relaxing movement, and is soon joined by the bassoon. Neither really takes the lead or recedes, but instead both play, individually yet in complete cooperation with each other. after a minute, the bassoon takes the lead, and the piano accompanies it with it's own arpeggios*. The song speeds up, with both instruments playing ornately, before slowing down and pausing for the next movement.
The second movement is more energetic, and mischievous sounding. The bassoon continues leading, with the piano playing powerful chords.
After six minutes and thirty seconds, the piece becomes relaxed again. The piano starts with some soft chords, and is joined by the bassoon, which takes the lead melody. This part of the song sounds like a song that two people could slow dance to. Its very comforting.
In this part of the song, the bassoon and the piano will trade the lead between each other. The bassoon will be playing the melody, and then recede for the piano to become more pronounced. At one point, they even start mimicking each other, bouncing a few notes back and forth.
After around twelve minutes and another mischievous section, the song becomes very joyously energetic. The bassoon and piano keep bouncing the lead back and forth, as the song continuously speeds up.
The ending is almost so satisfying. Had it had only one last chord, a few steps (notes) down from the last, it would have really completed the song. Despite this, the songs ends very energetically, with the bassoon playing quickly and the piano playing happy-sounding chords. The last measures display the piano and bassoon playing similar notes one beat apart from each other, as if they are responding to each other's notes.
Throughout the song, the bassoon and piano cooperate completely, meshing together to create a beautiful piece. As if dancing, the two instruments compliment each other perfectly in every part of the song.
*Arpeggios - the playing of notes in a chord in rapid succession instead of all at once.
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