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In the entire Scherzo similar motifs appear five times – bars 11-14, 31-34, 199-202, 219-222 and 264-266 – in the manuscripts they were written only three times (the first, second and fifth). The tenth chords of the L.H. at the end of each three-note motif appear 14 times in total, out of which in GC (→GE) only one (in bar 266) is provided with an arpeggio sign, while in FE (→EE) – three (in bars 13, 265 and 266). The difference between the sources is most easily explained with an inaccuracy of the copyist (oversight), yet a later addition of arpeggios in [A] or mistakes of the engraver of FE also cannot be excluded. As a result, it is not certain which chords were in fact provided with arpeggios by Chopin. Is it possible that in such musically and pianistically similar situation the composer's intention was to provide with arpeggios only one, two or three chords?
In order to answer this question in a rational manner, we should take into account the fact that in the case of chords of a span of a tenth (or more), the issue of notation is not equivalent with the intended performance – such chords without an arpeggio can be performed comfortably by a few pianists only, hence Chopin (and not only he) would not always mark an arpeggio, considering it to be obvious or leaving it at the discretion of the performer. For example, in the Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1, bars 29-40, only some of the chords of a span reaching a twelfth are preceded with an arpeggio sign.
Moreover, it is highly unlikely that Chopin would have been looking for effects whose realisation would be totally dependent on the hand's span, e.g., juxtaposing figures differing only in the presence or absence of an arpeggio of a tenth chord. According to us, the following solutions are possible:
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Arpeggio in bar 13 was given as a model for all similar situations. Of course, it would be more justified to write it already in bar 12, yet it could be considered to be an inaccuracy (a pair of motifs repeated an octave lower could draw the composer's attention better). We also have to define the notion of "all similar situations," as two solutions seem to be reasonable – all chords, both G
major and F
minor, or only G major chords, as being broader. - Arpeggios only in bars 265-266 or only in bar 266.
In the main text, we give the arpeggios that are present in the sources (FE), leaving at the discretion of the performer possible generalisation of the notation. As an alternative, we suggest an interpretation which is most likely according to us – arpeggios in all places.
category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources; Editorial revisions
notation: Ornaments
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