Main text
Main text
A - Autograph
FC - Fontana's Copy
FE - French edition
FE1 - First French edition
FE2 - Corrected reprint of FE1
FED - Dubois copy
FEJ - Jędrzejewicz copy
FES - Stirling copy
GE - German edition
GE1 - First German edition
GE1a - Corrected reprint of GE1
GE1b - Flawed impression of GE1
GE2 - Second German edition
GE3 - Revised impression of GE2
EE - English edition
EE1 - First English edition
EE2 - Corrected reprint of EE1
EE3 - Revised impression of EE2
compare
  b. 17-19

Slurs in A, probable reading

Slur in A, possible interpretation

Slurs in #CF

Slurs in FE

Slur in EE

Slurs in GE

The slurring of this fragment appears in the sources in five versions, out of which one allows for two ways of interpretation. However, only three of them can be considered as authentic, corresponding to the notation of the manuscripts:

  1. The slurring of A, in which we consider the slur at the end of bar 17 to be reliable. The bar, appearing at the end of the line, is embraced with a slur ending on the last quaver. The fact of breaking the slur seems to be confirmed by the rhythmic correction – Chopin deleted the slur and note extending the sound of the last f2 of the melody, as a result of which, the following it e2 is separated with a rest. Bars 18-19 are embraced with one slur, visibly connected by Chopin at the transition between the bars. 
  2. The slurring of A, in which we consider the slur at the beginning of bar 18 to be reliable, suggesting continuation of the previous slur. The most important argument for this interpretation is the connection of the slurs between the bars written by Chopin in FC. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that the rest separating the notes of the melody clearly did not impede Chopin to connect the slurs neither in FC (bars 17-18), nor in A (bars 18-19). In this version, the entire discussed fragment is embraced with one slur. 
  3. The slurring of FC, corrected by Chopin, who connected the slurs between bars 17-18. The version, in which the echo of the last phrase of the first section of the Etude is embraced with one slur and the first motif of the middle section with the second one, seems to be the most convincing, as far as the musical point of view is concerned.

The remaining three versions, appearing in the editions, correspond to the three discussed above, however, they include minor inaccuracies – in FE and EE the slur in bar 19 was led to far (in A one can see even a deletion of such a longer ending of the slur, which was not included in FE), in turn, in GE the slur in bar 18 was shortened.

In the main text we give the slurring of FC, verified by Chopin and natural in its compliance with the structure of the phrases. An additional argument for this version is a possibility of the following mistake of Chopin in A: while correcting FC, the composer realised that there is a need to connect the slur between bars 17-18. Having an intention to introduce an analogous correction in A (and probably also in the base text to EE), he would look for two, written next to each other, bars with separated slurs. Confused by the transition to the new line, which separated the sought-after bars, he hastily connected the slurs one bar too far. 

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Inaccuracies in FE, Corrections in A, Authentic corrections of FC, Tenuto slurs

notation: Slurs

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