Op. 64 No 1, Waltz in D♭ major

  b. 19

		a-c1-g1 in As, AII, AIII & FE (→GE,EE), possible reading of A
		c1-g1 in AI, different reading of A

On the basis of the photocopy of A that we have at our disposal, it is difficult to state whether on the 2nd and 3rd crotchets in bar 19 Chopin wanted to have a notes or not. The two persons that were preparing the text of the Waltz on the basis of the original of A – the engraver of FE (→GE,EE) and Jan Bogdan Drath* – gave the a-c¹-g¹ chords. However, according to us, it does not provide an absolute certainty that the interpretation is correct, as Chopin could have tried to delete the initially written a notes in a simplified manner, which, however, turned out to be unconvincing. On the other hand, the engraver could have simply mistaken this bar with bar 17 (see below, pt. 4). A comparison of the versions that are included in bars 11-12 and 19-20 in the accompaniment in As, AI, AII and AIII and deletions in these bars in A allow for the following observations:

1. the starting point – confirmed in As – was an accompaniment being a repetition of bars 9-10 and 17-18. Only in bar 20 on the 3rd beat of the bar, there was an A;
2. at the beginning of bar 20 all three presentation autographs have an a note; it was connected with adoption of a simpler version with a bass line from a to d¹ for bars 21-24. In AIII an analogous version is also in bar 12;
3. in A Chopin decided to place the bass in bars 21-24 in a lower octave (from A to d), as a result of which he returned to the original concept in bars 11-12 and 19-20 (with A and e as bass notes at the beginning of the bars and a-c¹-g¹ triads). Extensive deletions in bars 11-12 prove that the decision was then changed, probably more than once. Eventually, bars 11-12 adopted the form known from editions, with A and a as bass notes at the beginning of the bars and c¹-g¹ tritones. Chopin introduced a respective change also in bar 20;
4. initially, the change in bar 20 was not included in FE, which had an e at the beginning of the bar and a-c¹-g¹ as the 2nd crotchet – it is clearly proved by evident traces of corrections performed in print. Eventually, FE (→GE,EE) has, however, a text compatible with the corrected version of A. It is hard to state how it occurred – the engraver may have mistaken bar 20 with bar 18 or perhaps Chopin corrected this detail in A only at the stage of proofreading FE.

According to us, the following conclusions can be drawn:

• the core of the problem was bar 20 and the transition to the next phrase beginning with an F⁷ chord with third in the bass – the version with a in bar 21 (AI, AII, AIII) caused the change of the 1st crotchet in bar 20 from e to a. Apparently, Chopin considered it an improvement, independent from the further course of music and he introduced it – although in a not entirely consistent manner – also in bar 12 (in AII) and in the version of bar 20 leading to A in bar 21 (in A and FE).
• changes in the sound of the 2nd and 3rd crotchets were a consequence of the change of the bass note in bar 12 and 20 – Chopin was looking for the smartest version, as far as the sound and piano issues are concerned. The editors of mUltimate Chopin consider the text of A (and editions) in bars 11-12 to be such a version;
• a possible misunderstanding at the time of printing and proofreading of FE in bar 20 allows to assume a possibility of an oversight of a possible correction of bar 19 (deletion of a from the chords).

Giving bars 11 and 19 the same form seems to be additionally justified due to the sound economy and thinking with pairs of bars (bars 17-18 and 19-20), therefore, we give this version in the main text.

Similarly in bars 91-92, which in the manuscripts are only marked in an abbreviated manner as a repetition of bars 19-20 and they pose an analogous set of problems also in the editions. The only difference concerns the proofreading of FE in bar 92 – the correction was introduced in the last phase of corrections, so it was not included in GE. It is confirmed by the image of proofreadings known also from other compositions by Chopin, e.g., the Sonata in B minor, Op. 35, probably hasty, whose results cannot be always considered with complete confidence.

* Jan Bogdan Drath, Waltzes of Fryderyk Chopin. Sources, Kingsville, Texas 1979, p. 192.

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Interpretations within context; Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Corrections in A, Accompaniment changes

notation: Pitch

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