mUltimate Chopin

Op. 10 No 2, Etude in A minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Long accents

b. 3

composition: Op. 10 No 2, Etude in A minor

No mark in FE (→GE,EE) 

Probable  in Ap

Possible long accent in Ap
..

It is not clear how to understand the signs shaped in the form of accents visible in Ap at the end of bars 3 and 4. Therefore, in both places we offer alternative interpretations. A similar problem appears in analogous bars 11-12, 38 and 39.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Long accents

b. 4

composition: Op. 10 No 2, Etude in A minor

Probable  in Ap

Possible long accent in Ap

 in FE (→GE,EE) 

Our alternate suggestion
..

The  mark in FE (→GE,EE) is one of a few that had already been printed in FEcor. Therefore, its compliance with Chopin's intention is not certain due to the possibility of reversing the direction of the sign as a result of the engraver's error (cf., e.g., the Etude in C minor, No. 12, bar 53). Such an error seems to be possible if we take into consideration the four-bar section which ends here and the recurring first phrase with its crescendo and a possible  in Ap.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Long accents , Errors in FE , Sign reversal

b. 4

composition: Op. 10 No 2, Etude in A minor

 & accent in Ap

Accent in FE (→GE,EE) 

Our suggestion
..

The accent visible in FE (→GE,EE) should be rather interpreted as a short one, yet in FE even shorter signs were used, e.g., in the Etude in C major, No. 1, bars 1-2. Also the sign put in Ap (next to ) resembles more an ordinary short accent. However, the long accents written by Chopin in FEcor in analogous bars 12 and 39 clearly indicate Chopin's intention concerning the type of accent he wanted to use.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Long accents

b. 8

composition: Op. 10 No 2, Etude in A minor

Long accent in Ap & FEcor

 &  in FE (→GE,EE) 
..

In the main text, according to the entries written by Chopin himself in FEcor and Ap, we give the long accent mark over the 2nd crotchet in the L.H. In FE (→GE,EE) it was given a form of a  hairpin on the 1st beat of the bar, which totally changed its meaning. In the next proofreading Chopin brought back the stress on the E-e octave by adding  this time. According to us, it was an ad hoc intervention, forced with an erroneous interpretation of the intended by Chopin accent's mark, which is more compatible with the whole of dynamic markings of the Etude (a comparison of Ap with the final version shows that while preparing the Etude for printing, Chopin made a careful selection of the marks; he would often discard  marks, among others; cf., e.g., bar 4).  

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Long accents , Inaccuracies in FE

b. 11

composition: Op. 10 No 2, Etude in A minor

No mark in CLI & FE (→GE,EE) 

Probable  in Ap

Possible long accent in Ap
..

Same as in analogous bars 3-4, we propose an alternative interpretation of the short  sign, resembling an accent, visible in Ap at the end of bar 11. A similar problem appears also in bars 12, 38 and 39.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Long accents