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Op. 49, Fantaisie in F minor

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Verbal indications

b. 302-309

composition: Op. 49, Fantaisie in F minor

cresc. - - - to b, 309 in A

cresc. - - to end of b. 309 in GE

in b. 309 in FE (→EE1)

cresc. - - &  in EE2

cresc. - - & , our alternative suggestion
..

Chopin added the multi-bar cresc. - - indication – along with a number of other indications in this fragment – to A after [FC] had been finished, which explains its absence in FE (→EE1). In the very FE (or earlier in [FC]) there is only the  hairpin in bar 309, which, being almost certainly authentic, can be considered an alternative concept of leading the course to the culminant chord in bar 310.
In the A notation it is noteworthy that the dashes markings the range of crescendo do not reach the end of bar 309, and therefore  and  in bar 310. GE considered it an insignificant inaccuracy and extended the dashes to the end of the bar. We provide this natural interpretation of the A notation in the main text. However, it is also likely that Chopin hesitated while writing the dashes, perhaps considering using a different indication in the last bar, e.g. a , as in FE, and then started doing something else without making the decision. We include this possibility as an alternative solution. 

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: EE revisions , Corrections in A , GE revisions , Authentic corrections of FE , Inaccuracies in A

b. 306-310

composition: Op. 49, Fantaisie in F minor

sempre più mosso - - in A

sempre più mosso - - - in GE

No indication in FE (→EE1)

sempre più mosso in EE2
..

As was the case with stretto in bar 290 and più mosso in bar 294, sempre più mosso was also a later Chopinesque addition to A (→GE). On the basis of GE1, it was also added by EE2. None of these editions reproduced the dashes marking the range of the indication correctly – in GE they were led a bar too far, whereas in EE2 they were overlooked.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: EE revisions , Inaccuracies in GE

b. 310

composition: Op. 49, Fantaisie in F minor

 &  in A (→GE) & EE2

in FE (→EE1)
..

The difference in the position of  between A and FE suggests that this indication did not get into FE on the basis of A (through [FC]), but was added independently to A and to FE or [FC]. It should be noted that each version is an element of an authentic, different concept of performing this theme (already from bar 290), quite consistently differentiated between A and FE.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: EE revisions , Corrections in A

b. 320

composition: Op. 49, Fantaisie in F minor

Adagio & sostenuto in A (→GE)

Adagio sostenuto in FE (→EE)
..

In A the sostenuto indication is written below Adagio and in slightly smaller font. Therefore, it seems that the engraver of GE was right when he decided not to combine the terms in one indication. On the other hand, the correction visible in A – instead of Adagio Chopin initially wrote Lento – shows that the final version of the indication was being developed gradually and that both its parts could have been written at a different time, which would explain the observed inconsistency in notation. Therefore, the FE version (→EE), which could have been added in this form by Chopin to [FC] or even while proofreading FE, can be considered an equal variant. We leave it to the discretion of the performers to decide what impact, if any, it has in practice. 

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Corrections in A , Deletions in A

b. 321

composition: Op. 49, Fantaisie in F minor

cresc. - - & smorz. - - in A

No indications in FE (→EE1)

cresc. & smorz. - in GE

cresc. & smorz. in EE2
..

In the main text we provide the indications added by Chopin to A after [FC] had been finished. They were repeated in GE, and on the basis thereof in EE2, yet in both cases it was performed inaccurately. None of these versions can be authentic.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Inaccuracies in GE