(Op. 4), Sonata in C minor, Mvt III

  b. 9-10

		Slur from c to f1 in A, literal reading
		Slur from A to e1 in GE (→FE,IE)
		Slur from a to e1 in EE
		Slur from A to d1 suggested by the editors

The intuitively obvious L.H. part slurs were not written down as such in A – the slurs neither begin from the first, bottom-most notes of the passages nor reach the last ones, on the beginning of the next bar. According to us, it resulted from Chopin's inaccuracy; it seems that in many places in the Sonata he did not pay much attention to slurs – cf. the notes on mov. I, bars 17-20 and 101. In particular:

• The slur in bar 9 starting from the 3rd quaver in the bar and the slur being divided in bar 10 result from the change of direction of stems and beams – cf. the slurs in similar situations in bars 11-13.
• The fact that the slur in bar 9 ends on f¹ could be explained by the parts of both hands getting close to each other on this note – leading the slur farther would require writing it precisely between the staves, which Chopin probably considered unnecessary.
• The ending of the slur in bar 10 could be considered reliable, yet the examples of other slurs, shortened for no apparent reason – cf. bar 13 and 15 – make us consider this slur to be too short as well.

Therefore, in the main text we suggest slurs encompassing the entire passages, together with the crowning four-note motifs introducing – already at the beginning of the next bar – a characteristic note of a new chord (d¹ and e¹). The GE slurs (→FE,IE), differing from the ones we suggest only in the ending (a quaver earlier), could be considered acceptable variants in the light of the above analysis. The EE version is completely arbitrary, perhaps due to the engraver's carelessness.

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources; Editorial revisions; Source & stylistic information

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A, GE revisions, EE inaccuracies

notation: Slurs

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