Papillons vs. Carnaval

Papillons and Carnaval are two of Schumann’s most widely known pieces. This could be because of their similar structure, which are composed of many small pieces strung together to create a larger work. Each small piece exemplifies a different emotion which may be why they are enjoyed so much by both audiences and performers. At least this is what I find so fascinating in these two pieces. Schumann was very in tune with his different emotions, so much that he had analyzed his different personalities to the point of giving them specific names. The most famous are Eusebius, who was the more reserved side, and Florestan, the more outgoing and daring side. I think it is this self-awareness that Schumann had that helped him to create such successful music. He was able to create these different personalities that he was mindful of, giving the music a wide range of emotion. Both Papillons and Carnaval illustrate his amazing ability of capturing his feelings and pouring them into his compositions. There is one major difference between the two, however. Papillons was composed based of the literal work of someone else, where as Carnaval was composed from Schumann’s own personal experiences.

Papillons, composed before Carnaval in 1832, was based off of Jean-Paul Richter’s novel Flegejahre. It is based off a scene at a masked ball. Each small piece is a scene from the ball, such as a boot carrying itself in the third piece, a couple gazing at each other from a distance in the fifth piece, or Walt (a character from the novel) gently touching his love, Wina. Unlike in Carnaval, Schumann did not make up these characters and instead based them off someone else’s imagination. This is not a surprise since Schumann had such a passionate interest in literature. His father was an editor, publisher, author, and librarian, which could have sparked his interest. Later on in life Schumann became an editor for Die Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik. He constantly was fusing his love for writing and literature with music.

Carnaval, on the other hand, was not based on one literary work and was instead written based on specific people in his life. Because of this one could claim that is it a more imaginable composition. Furthermore it is more connected to Schumann’s own life. This piece was also written later than Papillons, in 1834, when he was a more mature composer. Carnaval is based on the four notes: A, E flat, C, and B, which mean ASCH in German. Asch was the town where his fiance Ernestine von Fricken was born. He then personalizes the piece even more by separating it into smaller pieces that represent people that were important in his life such as Chopin, Clara, Eusebius, Florestan, Paganini etc. Schumann composed his own story taking the listener on a journey through Carnaval, an annual celebrattion in Germany. The Carnaval, however, is composed of people from his own life.

I think the fact that Carnaval is composed from Schumann’s own experiences and perceptions of people in his life makes it a much more impressive work. Although it does quote things from other sources, it is not based off of someone else’s creation as Papillons is. By familiarizing yourself with this work you are able to learn a lot about Schumann, his life, and his personal feelings.