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2 long accents in FE |
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Long accent in b. 144 in EE1 |
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3 short & 1 long accents in EE2 |
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2 short & 2 long accents suggested by the editors |
Among the accents in bar 144, 146, 148 and 150, in A we can see both short and long ones – all 4 marks in bars 144-146 are long, whereas the 3 marks in bars 148-150 – short (there is no accent in the middle of bar 150). Musically speaking, such division seems obscure – there is no reason for performing the crotchet chords at the beginning of bar 144 and 146 differently than the similar chords in bar 148 and 150; the same applies to the chords in the middle of these bars, held longer. A comparison with analogous bars 224-230 and 311-315 contributes to the doubt; in these bars (except bar 226) the accents are consistently differentiated in accordance with what could be expected from them – the crotchet chords (at the beginning of the bars) are provided with short accents, whereas the "minim" ones (in the second halves of the bars) – with long accents.
The second issue concerns the absence of some accents in FE – in bars 144-150 there are no marks at the beginning of the bars, while in bars 224-230 there are no accents at all. Only the last time, in bars 311-315, FE features all marks written in A, observing the differences in their length. The regular nature of the missing marks suggests that the accents that are absent in FE were added by Chopin to A after [FC], which served as the basis for FE, had been finished. This would mean that while writing A, Chopin provided with accents only the passages following the energetic fragments in bars 109-142 and 276-309, graduating the intensity through the number of accents (one in each bar the first time; two in each bar the second time), coinciding with the dynamic gradation of the march sections in bars 127-142 (
) and 294-309 (sempre forte and cresc.). However, eventually, while reviewing the entire manuscript, he also added accents to the remaining passages. Therefore, the visible inconsistencies in the use of short/long accents would be caused by the gradual shaping process of the graphic picture of this fragment:
- In bars 144-150, seeing the accents in the second halves of the bars, he added the same marks at the beginnings of the bars, which can be considered an explanation for the lack of variety within particular bars. As far as the difference in the length of the accents between bars 144-146 and 148-150 is concerned, it can be related to the division of A into pages – all long accents are written in A on one page (bar 146 is the last one), while the short ones – on the next page. In the first stage of writing A (before later additions) Chopin wrote two long accents in the middle of bar 144 and 146 and one shorter mark on a new page in bar 148 (where he was changing the pitch of some notes – see the note in that bar). Therefore, there were reasons for the last mark to be written inaccurately.
- In bars 224-230 Chopin added all 8 accents, actually observing the logical differentiation between short and long marks. Even bar 226, in which both marks are seemingly of the same length, after a more detailed analysis, turns out to be compliant with the scheme from the remaining bars. It is the top arms of both accents, written first, that are to be considered reliable – following this rule, the mark at the beginning of the bar becomes a short accent (like the accent in bar 248, unquestionable), shorter than the mark in the middle of the bar.
In the discussed bars, GE repeated the A notation (the length of the GE accents is unobvious, since they do not differ significantly from short marks – cf., e.g. the long marks in bar 126 and the short mark in bar 127). EE1 repeated only the long accent of FE from bar 144, while EE2 added the three remaining ones – as short – after comparing it with GE1.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions; Corrections & alterations
issues: Long accents, EE revisions, Errors in EE
notation: Articulation, Accents, Hairpins
