Below the comparison of the versions of the 1st quaver in the L.H. in bar 2 and analogous (A – a single A note, 8 – the A1-A octave):
| bar | CLI | Ap | [FE0] | FE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 8 | A | 8 | 8 |
| 6 | 8 | A | 8 | 8 |
| 10 | 8 | A | 8 | 8 |
| 14 | A | A | A | 8 |
| 37 | 8 | A | A | A |
| 41 | 8 | A | 8 | 8 |
The following observations can be made:
- one of the sources including the non-final version of the Etude (Ap) has a single A in all places;
- although the version with the octave does not appear in all bars in any of the sources, in each of them it is included at least once – CLI or FE;
- in one of the places Chopin changed a single note for octave (FEcor in bar 14);
- in the version of the piece accepted for printing a single note appears only once.
According to us, it leads to the conclusion that the only place with a single note (bar 37) may have been preserved in the version accepted for printing as a result of the composer's distraction during proofreading. At the same time, there is no doubt that the octave would have been provided with a staccato dot, same as the remaining quavers in the L.H.
On the other hand, the version with a single note may have been intended. The comparison of the part of the L.H. in bars 36-44 with bars 9-17 shows also other small differences (in bar 44), whereas the final result is a consistent in the entire final section of the Etude division of single bass notes, used in bars 36-40, from the octaves present in bars 41-49. It allows to consider both versions of this bar as justified from the point of view of the sources.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources
issues: Errors in FE
notation: Pitch