Between bars 182-183 Chopin wrote in A 5 ties (ties are very characteristic in Chopin's autographs – they are generally bolder, short and placed directly before a tied note). The meaning of the topmost one, reaching b
, is questionable – a tie would deprive this characteristic motif of its last note, while an attempt at interpreting it as a slur leads to a dead end, since the left-hand ending thereof does not point to any note that could be considered a starting point of a motif. Therefore, it is most likely that Chopin wrote this tie "out of momentum" while mechanically providing subsequent notes of the chord at the beginning of bar 183 with ties. GE reproduced it as a tie, beginning next to the penultimate quaver in bar 182. In the graphic transcription we reproduce the A curved line literally, whereas in the content transcription – as a tie, as it was the case with GE.
FE literally repeated the A notation; moreover, similar ties, reaching the topmost note of the chord at the beginning of the bar, were added in the remaining analogous situations in bars 180-181, 184-185 and 186-187. This is a routine revision (in similar contexts ties are often overlooked), yet in this case it must be erroneous – we already discussed the situation in bars 182-183 and 186-187 above, whereas in bar 180 and 184 there is not even a b note to which this tie could apply. Such revisions can also be found in other compositions by Chopin, e.g. in the Mazurka in B, Op. 41 No. 2, bars 4-5 and analog., see also the Waltz in A, Op. 42, bars 141-142. In EE the ties were reproduced inaccurately – the tie in bars 184-185 was overlooked, whereas the one in bars 180-181 was provided with the form of a slur, combining c1-b.
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category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources; Editorial revisions
issues: EE revisions, Errors in EE, Errors of A, FE revisions