mUltimate Chopin

Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Errors in FE

b. 177

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Staccato dot in A, possible reading

No mark in FE (→GE,EE)
..

On the available photograph of A, it is difficult to evaluate whether the dot visible over the 1st quaver is a staccato mark, an insignificant fleck of ink or the upper end of this note's stem. Therefore, in the main text we confide in the engraver of FE, who did not include this possible mark in the text. In similar contexts, Chopin would use both a version with a dot and a version without it, cf., e.g. b. 68 and 191 of the Ballade.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE

b. 178

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

L.H. slurs in A, contextual interpretation

No slurs in FE (→GE,EE)
..

One can understand the engraver of FE (→GE,EE); he did not know how to reproduce the inaccurate slur of A in the 1st half of the bar, going over the R.H. part (in A, the 2nd half of the bar is marked in an abridged manner as a repetition of the first). According to us, although the slur, when interpreted literally, reaches the c1 crotchet in the R.H. part, according to Chopin, it was supposed to encompass the L.H. half-a-bar figure and to be repeated in the 2nd half of the bar.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Inaccurate slurs in A

b. 179

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Accent in A

No mark in FE (→GE,EE)

Our variant suggestion
..

In the case of a single small mark, a possible Chopinesque acceptance of its absence in FE (→GE,EE) is problematic; the absence of traces of corrections in print makes it unlikely for it to have been removed in the stage of proofreading (see the previous note in this bar). Due to the above, in the main text we suggest a variant solution, leaving the decision concerning its use to the performer's taste.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

issues: Errors in FE

b. 186-187

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

 in A

No markings in FE (→GE,EE)

 suggested by the editors

  , our alternative suggestion
..

The missing  asterisk at the end of b. 186 is almost certainly Chopin's oversight in A (it closes the line, which is conducive to mistakes). FE (→GE,EE) also omitted the closest  mark, which contributed to the following pair of marks, seemingly correct,  , encompassing one bar and a half. It could have been an unsuccessful revision or an oversight; however, irrespective of the reason, mixing harmonies between b. 186 and 187 is a mistake.
It is difficult to decide where to place the  asterisk overlooked in b. 186 – see the note in the previous bar – hence we suggest two solutions.  

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Inaccuracies in A

b. 187

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Long accent in A

No mark in FE (→GE,EE)

Our variant suggestion
..

category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

issues: Errors in FE