mUltimate Chopin

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Issues : Non-slashed grace notes

b. 11-19

composition: Op. 28 No. 4, Prelude in E minor

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Both in b. 11 and 19, the grace notes in A (→FE→EE) are non-slashed, whereas in FC (→GE) – slashed. It is an inaccuracy that would often happen to Fontana-copyist, in this case almost certainly contrary to the intention of Chopin. The Chopinesque entries in FED equate the grace note and the crotchet with two quavers, which can be considered one of the performance possibilities of these motifs. We recommend a slightly shorter grace note, which could be written down as .
We give the variants resulting from the above differences of notation in the notes to b. 10-11 and 18-19.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Source & stylistic information

issues: Annotations in teaching copies , Annotations in FED , Non-slashed grace notes , Fontana's revisions

b. 39

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

Small crotchet in A (→FE→EE1)

in FC (→GE) & EE2
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As in many other places, Fontana replaced the Chopinesque grace note with a common short grace note (the change also got to EE2, probably via GE1). In the main text we keep the notation of A (→FE→EE1), although it most probably carries the same meaning as a . 

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Non-slashed grace notes , Fontana's revisions

b. 39

composition: Op. 30 No. 4, Mazurka in C# minor

 in FC (→GE)

in FE (→EE)
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Here and in bar 55 we give in the main text a non-slashed grace note after FE, which seem more reliable in this case. It is true that French editions included inaccuracies in grace notes, but Fontana would very often change non-slashed grace notes to slashed ones (cf. the description of FC in the Preludes, Op. 28). This situation occurs twice in the Mazurka, and in both places FE feature a , although almost all the remaining grace notes in entire opus 30 are reproduced there as  (except bar 80). According to us, it guarantees the authenticity of this notation. As a matter of fact, the notation is probably of no significant importance in practical terms, since the grace note merely indicates that the trill is supposed to begin from the main note. 

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Notation of grace notes , Non-slashed grace notes , Inaccuracies in FC

b. 41

composition: Op. 24 No. 1, Mazurka in G minor

A grace note without a slash in A

A grace note with a slash in GE (→FE→EE)
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For our main text we take the grace note with a slash, as in GE (→FE→EE). Chopin was sometimes inaccurate in his notation of grace notes, and so quavers and crotchets without slashes appear in places in which the context precludes their reading in accordance with classic rules. In our text, a long grace note would ruin the characteristic mazurka rhythm.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Non-slashed grace notes