What is "papillons"

n. (plural of papillon English)

Papillons, Op. 2, is a suite of piano pieces written in 1831 by Robert Schumann. The title means 'butterflies' in French. The work is meant to represent a masked ball and was inspired by the Jean Paul's novel Flegeljahre.

The suite begins with a six-measure introduction before launching into a variety of dance-like movements. Each movement is unrelated to the preceding ones, except that the second, A major, theme of the sixth movement recurs in G major in the tenth movement and the theme of the first movement returns in the finale. Eric Jensen notes that the 11th movement is appropriately a polonaise as Vult and Wina speak in her native language, Polish (Jensen 2001, 92-93). This movement starts out by quoting the theme of the traditional Grossvater Tanz (Grandfather's Dance), which was always played at the end of a wedding or similar celebration. Repeated notes near the end of the piece suggest a clock striking, signifying the end of the ball.