Op. 43, Tarantella

Fair score, partly working autograph. It was not the immediate base for any first editions but Chopin wrote it up thinking about its publication, which can be seen for example in addresses of three co-editors: Tarentelle / pour le piano-forte / par F. Chopin / Oev. [no nr.] / Hambourg / Chez Schubert et C^ie / Paris / Chez Troupenas et C^ie / Londres / Chez Wessel et C^ie displayed on the title page.

When sending A from Nohant to Paris (letter of June 27, 1841), Chopin asked Julian Fontana to copy the manuscript, explaining how he sees the notation of Tarantella in its final version ready for print. Based on the instruction, Fontana prepared three copies of A, as the basis for first editions. The text of Tarantella in A is written with abbreviations - recurring parts of the piece Chopin marked with repeat signs (bars12-19, 36-50, 156-162, 188-195), or empty numbered bars corresponding to the parts written out with notes (bars 100-115, 133-147). Some repeating rhythmic groupings of LH accompaniment are also written in an abbreviated form (e.g. in bars 6, 7, 253-258). In A we see numerous corrections and deletions (e.g. in bars 28, 51 or 172-175), this however, does not obscure its reading. The manuscript is partly destroyed - the top edge and one of the corners is burnt. The text of the destroyed parts - beginning and bars 63, 92-97, 148-149, 196-197 and 241-242 can be almost fully restored by comparing the sources created partly based on A, i.e. FC3, GE1 and EE.

In Tarantella Chopin was rather modest with performance markings. There is no pedalling, and dynamic markings certainly do not describe all the nuances (see e.g. the subsequent Chopin’s annotations in FED).

The inaccuracies of A include the following:

• numerous omissions of accidentals, e.g. in bars 22, 27 or 260-266, which in general does not lead to misinterpretations with an exception of the internal note of a chord on the second beat in b. 25 and corresponding ones;
• frequent rhythmic inaccuracies like omission of extending dots with minims and - or especially - with crotchets, e.g. in bars 4, 24, 31;
• difficulty to make a distinction between long and short accents (e.g. bars 164-178).