FE
Main text
A - Autograph
FE - French edition
FE1 - First French edition
FE2 - Corrected impression of FE1
FED - Dubois copy
FEJ - Jędrzejewicz copy
FES - Stirling copy
GE - German edition
GE1 - First German edition
GE2 - Second German edition
GE3 - Third German edition
GE4 - Fourth German edition
EE - English edition
EE3 - Corrected impression of [EE2]
EE4 - Revised impression of EE3
compare
  b. 77-81

 in A, literal reading

 in A, contextual interpretation

No signs in FE (→GE,EE

Our variant suggestion

The  marks visible in A under the part of the L.H. in bars 77 and 79 present a number of performance problems:

  • the mark in bar 77 may be considered to be concerning the part of the R.H. in bar 81, particularly in the case when Chopin would have added it already after having written this bar. However, we believe that it is more possible that Chopin wrote it together with bar 77, not taking into account the mass with high notes in bar 81 yet. The main argument is the analogy with bar 79, in which a similar unequivocal  mark appears in the identical situation;
  • none of the marks was included in FE (→GE,EE). However, omission of the mark in bar 79 (and 81) – same as in the case of many other indications – cannot be considered as a clear expression of Chopin's intention and in the case of bar 77 it would be even more puzzling if the engraver had guessed the mark's affiliation to this bar; 
  • the arms of  marks are of different length, yet the uncertainty concerning the range of the mark in bar 79 seems to be negligible and nothing indicates that the mark in bar 77 was supposed to differ from it (if we assume the affiliation to this bar). 

The aforementioned arguments convince us to adopt in the main text a variant solution with  marks in brackets.

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in FE

notation: Articulation, Accents, Hairpins

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