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Op. 12, Variations in B♭ major

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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
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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.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Editorial revisions

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

b. 204

composition: Op. 12, Variations in B♭ major

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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.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Errors in FE , GE revisions

b. 205

composition: Op. 12, Variations in B♭ major

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The missing b note in the chord on the 3rd quaver is most probably an oversight by the EE engraver.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in EE

b. 205-206

composition: Op. 12, Variations in B♭ major

Accents in FE (→EE)

No marks in GE
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The absence of four accents in GE suggests that they were added in the last stage of proofreading FE, after the copy meant as the basis for GE had been sent to Leipzig. However, the marks could have also been omitted due to the GE1 engraver's inattention.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in GE , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 207

composition: Op. 12, Variations in B♭ major

in FE, contextual interpretation

rf in GE

in EE
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In FE we can see here "zf", which we change to the correct . We discuss in detail the issue of the Chopinesque notation of forzando and its variants in the sources in the note in bar 1. The symbols introduced by GE and EE were arbitrary attempts at finding the correct substitute for the erroneous FE notation.
In FE it is unclear whether the indication is supposed to concern the left or the right hand. We assume that it concerns the left hand, as the mark is still over the initial octave, which suits the music better if we take into account the fact that Chopin would use  as an accent. The marks in GE and EE rather refer to the R.H.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Inaccuracies in FE , GE revisions