mUltimate Chopin

Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Inaccurate slurs in A

b. 81

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Slur from 4th crotchet in A (literal reading→FE→GE,EE)

Slur from 5th crotchet in A, contextual interpretation
..

The R.H. slur beginning in this bar is inaccurately written down in A. The interpretation adopted by FE (→GE,EE) may be regarded as graphically correct; however, according to us, the notation of A does not suggest that the slurs should coincide; on the contrary, they should be separated – the slurs in this bar both begin and end before the respective note of the motif (the beginning – "encompassing", the ending – "pointing"). It is also the musical sense that is an unequivocal argument for the slur starting from the repeated, accentuated g2 crotchet.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A

b. 85

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Slur in A, literal reading

Slur in FE (→GE,EE)
..

A comparison of four R.H. slurs in b. 85 and 89 suggests that the second slur in b. 85 in A is either inaccurate or incomplete (the actual beginning of the slur may be imperceptible on the photograph). It cannot be excluded that some changes were made in the stage of proofreading FE, in which the range of this slur corresponds to the range of its counterpart in b. 89. Due to the above, in the main text we give the slur of FE (→GE,EE), unquestionable in terms of both sources and style.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 87

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Slur from b2 in A, contextual interpretation

No slur in FE (→GE,EE)
..

The range of the slur over the b2 minim is not entirely clear in A – the placement of the beginning of the slur may suggest that it runs from the 1st note in the bar. However, a comparison with the slur in the next bar proves that both slurs refer to the syncopated b2 minims only; thus, they most probably emphasise the tenuto nature of these notes.
The omission of the slur by FE (→GE,EE) may be explained by the engraver being uncertain about the range and meaning of the slur. See also the next note.  

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Inaccurate slurs in A , Tenuto slurs

b. 87-88

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Slurs in A, contextual interpretation

Slurs in FE (→GE,EE)
..

In A, due to corrections, the group of quavers ending b. 87 was written down on an adjacent stave, which leads to confusion as to the range of the slur – it goes beyond the bar line yet it stays far from the b1 crotchet falling on the beginning of b. 88. According to us, it is much more likely that the slur should have been led to the beginning of the next bar, which is indicated by a more transparent situation in an analogous motif a bar earlier. FE (→GE,EE) ended the slur in b. 87; in addition, a new slur starts from the 1st note in b. 88, which is clearly against the notation of A.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Inaccurate slurs in A , Errors resulting from corrections

b. 129-130

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

..

In A, the slur at the end of b. 129, the last on the page, clearly suggests that it should be continued, yet there is no ending thereof in b. 130. We assume – as FE (→GE,EE) did – that it reaches b, the 1st crotchet in b. 130. 

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Source & stylistic information

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A , Uncertain slur continuation