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b. 201

composition: Op. 12, Variations in B♭ major

Third in FE (→GE,EE)

e, our alternative suggestion

According to us, it is quite likely that the 1st L.H. quaver was being corrected in this bar in FE. The beam, placed too high, suggests that initially there was just one note, g, while the e notehead was added later. It is also likely that the correction was aimed at changing the probably erroneous bass note, from g to e, and not at adding another note. An e note would constitute a regular fourth leap with the preceding B note, soon repeated a second lower as A-d. Therefore, the correction would have remained unfinished, which was a frequent occurrence in Chopin's pieces (cf., e.g. the Ballade in F, Op. 38, bar 179 or the Concerto in F minor, Op. 21, mov. III, bar 282). The absence of a direct resolution of the a seventh from the preceding bar is not unusual in such accompanying figures, cf., e.g. the Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49, bars 78 and 82 or the Nocturne in F minor, Op. 48 No. 2, bars 5-6 and analog. Taking into account the above, we suggest a more regular e-e¹-b figure, justified by the above scenario, as an alternative version with respect to the source text.

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category imprint: Editorial revisions

issues: Errors in FE , Terzverschreibung error , Authentic corrections of FE , Partial corrections

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b. 204-206

composition: Op. 12, Variations in B♭ major

Alternating B major & minor chords in FE (→GE,EE)

Major chords suggested by editors

Major chords & 1 minor one, our alternative suggestion

According to us, when interpreted literally, the source text featuring B chords on the 1st quavers and B minor chords on the 4th ones resulted from the inaccurate notation – engrossed in carefully marking the oscillating basses in the seventh chords (g-g), Chopin did not notice that in spite of looking the same, the tonic chords sound differently, as their mode changes depending on their position with respect to the bar line. Therefore, in this context, we assume that the problematic notes are d¹, which is natural, hence more likely, since d¹ appears only in the passing chords and is clearly a foreign note (lower neighbouring note). Such omitted alteration cancellations belong to Chopin's most frequent mistakes.
As an alternative solution, we suggest one B minor chord in the middle of bar 206, which is a version containing a smaller number of additions to the source text, and yet acceptable from the harmonic point of view.

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category imprint: Interpretations within context; Editorial revisions

issues: Errors in FE , Omissions to cancel alteration , Cautionary accidentals

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b. 204

composition: Op. 12, Variations in B♭ major

In FE the last L.H. chord is provided with a superfluous to b. On the other hand, the accidental to d¹ is missing, which suggests a mistake, particularly in the context of the next two bars. This is how it was assessed in GE, in which the to b was removed, while a flat to d¹ was added, lowering it to d¹. The mistake was also corrected in EE by adding the correct accidental yet without removing the harmless to b.