mUltimate Chopin

Op. 10 No 5, Etude in G♭ major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Long accents

b. 55-56

composition: Op. 10 No 5, Etude in G♭ major

Accents in A

 & accent in FE

Long accents in EE

 in GE
..

It does not seem possible that the accents of A, clearly falling on the 3rd quaver in both bars, took the form they have in FE due to the engraver's inaccuracy. Therefore, we consider the version of FE as an expression of Chopin's latest intention (despite the difference in length we consider both signs as long accents, as it was interpreted in EE). In GE the signs were given the form of short  hairpins, which in this context is generally equal to long accents. 

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Long accents , Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccuracies in FE , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 61-62

composition: Op. 10 No 5, Etude in G♭ major

Long accents in A, contextual interpretation

Short accents in A (literal reading) & FE (→GE,EE)
..

It is uncertain which type of accents Chopin had in mind. The signs in A, particularly the second, are clearly shorter than these in the R.H., yet in all analogous figures in bars 7, 15 and 27-28 A displays long accents.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness

issues: Long accents

b. 69-70

composition: Op. 10 No 5, Etude in G♭ major

Accents in A, literal reading

 in FE (→EE,GE1→GE2)

No marks in GE3 (→GE4→GE5)

Accents in A, contextual interpretation
..

According to us, both the accents of A and the clearly longer  marks in FE (→GE,EE) imply the same – long accents. It is proved by the marks added by Chopin in a proofreading of FE in analogous bars 73-74. 

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness

issues: Long accents

b. 73-74

composition: Op. 10 No 5, Etude in G♭ major

No marks in A & EE2

Two long accents in FE (→GE1→GE1a)

Two short accents in GE2 (→GE3)

Three short accemts in GE4 (→GE5)

Four accents in EE3 (→EE4)

Three long accents proposed by the editors
..

Two long accents in FE (→GE1→GE1a) were certainly added by Chopin. They confirm the way in which Chopin understood all signs written with the first appearance of this phrase (bars 69-70). All subsequent versions are undoubtedly a result of inaccuracy or revision. We suggest to add the accent in the 2nd half of bar 74, as it seems highly unlikely that Chopin would want the last motif to be performed in a different way.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

issues: Long accents , EE revisions , Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccuracies in FE , Errors in EE , GE revisions , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 75-76

composition: Op. 10 No 5, Etude in G♭ major

Long accents in A & EE

 & accent in FE

Short accents in GE
..

The long accents visible in A were interpreted in FE as a  sign and a short accent, taking into account only their size. Both in GE and in EE the signs were unified: GE has two short accents, EE – long.  

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Long accents , EE revisions , Inaccuracies in FE , GE revisions