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Op. 38, Ballade in F major

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b. 90

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

..

The bottom note of the penultimate chord in the R.H. was certainly corrected in GC, probably from d1 to e1. It is hard to state clearly whether it is Gutmann's own correction or whether it was Chopin that noticed and corrected the wrong pitch while reviewing GC. Cf. the note in bar 13.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Inaccuracies in GC , Alterations in GC

b. 92

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

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In A (→GC,EE) the middle note a1 on the 2nd beat of the R.H. is assigned to the middle voice. Recognising such division into voices, the revisers of FE and GE shortened the value of this note by deleting the extending dot. No repetition of a1 on the last quaver (cf. bar 94) indicates rather the necessity to sustain this note to the end of the bar, in accordance with the notation of A. Therefore, in the main text we correct the illogical in this situation division into voices, following similar bars 38 and 40. At the time of writing this chord, Chopin could have thought about bar 94, which could have caused the mistake.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: GE revisions , FE revisions , Inaccuracies in A

b. 92-93

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

 in A (→EE)

 in GC i FE

in EE

 in GE
..

The shortening of the  sign in FE is rather certainly the result of the text's layout – bar 93 starts a new line. However, it is difficult to establish the cause for the shortening of the sign in GC. The copyist could e.g. have mistaken these bars with bars 94-95 where A has a shorter sign. We regard the inaccuracies – in relation to the Stichvorlage – of the hairpins in GE and EE as the effect of a routine adjusting of the signs to the rhythmical structures. We give the A notation in the main text.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccuracies in FE , Scope of dynamic hairpins , EE inaccuracies , Inaccuracies in GC

b. 92-94

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

Slur in A (literal reading→FE,EE)

Slur in A, contextual interpretation

Slur in GC (→GE)
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The ending of slur in bar 94 is unclear in A – Chopin probably meant a "tenuto slur" as in the first half of bar 92. However, it cannot be ruled out that it is the shorter slur in FE and EE which correctly conveys Chopin's intention. The earlier beginning of slur in GC (→GE) is certainly a result of copyist's inattentiveness.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

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

b. 93

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

No sign in A (→FE,EE)

Arpeggio sign in GC (→GE)

Our variant suggestion
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In A (→FE,EE) there is no arpeggio. The sign, possibly added by Chopin, is featured in GC (→GE).

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Authentic corrections in GC