mUltimate Chopin

Op. 39, Scherzo in C♯ minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Inaccuracies in FE

b. 581-588

composition: Op. 39, Scherzo in C♯ minor

8 short accents in EE, GE and probably in GC

Possible long accents in GC

7 long accents in FE
..

Accents in these bars may be interpreted as long (especially in FE, and probably in GC) or short (EE and GE, more probbale in GC). For the main text we adopt short accents because of the notation including rests at the end if each bar - if Chopin wanted to suggest longer sounds, he should have written crotchets. As and additional argument to support this view, we see that in FE in bars 613-616, repeating bars 581-584, there are short accents. In FE there is no accent in 588, which is obvious inaccuracy.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Long accents , Inaccuracies in FE

b. 600-603

composition: Op. 39, Scherzo in C♯ minor

Slur in EE, simplest interpretation

Slurs in GC

Slurs in FE, simplest interpretation

Possible interpretation of FE

GE
..

Those obvious inaccuracies in the three editons obscure deciphering Chopin's intentions regarding slurring of the part. In the main text we present the slurs notated without clear faults in  GC. They represent possible articulationn of the chords progression. While interpreting the slur in # EE we assume that the error applies to b. 600 (half of the line spanning bars 598-600 has no slurs in EE). We retain the slurs in GE as despite the inaccurate copy of the basis (GC) they are formally correct. The FE slurs may be interpreted in a variety of ways, among others as distorted GC slurs or as the aforementioned.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccuracies in FE , EE inaccuracies

b. 632-634

composition: Op. 39, Scherzo in C♯ minor

Pedalling in EE

No markings in GC (→GE)

Pedalling in FE

Our suggestion
..

None of the sources provides correct pedalling in these bars. No  in EE (b. 632) and FE (b. 634) may only slightly mislead the performer as in both sources the moment of releasing (changing) pedals is marked with  (accordingly in bars 633 and 635). In GC (→GE) there is no pedalling until the end of the piece, which most certainly can be classified as the copyist's omission (in two last lines of the text 259-266 i 548-553). 

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in FE , No pedal release mark , Errors of GC