mUltimate Chopin

Op. 38, Ballade in F major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Errors in FE

b. 55

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

Literal reading of A (→GC,FE1) – notes e

Notes e in FE2 (→FE3), EE & GE, contextual interpretation of A (→GC,FE1)
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In A (→GC,FE1) there are no accidentals in this bar. The e notes, present in two previous bars and in a few subsequent ones, including in analogous bar 57, indicate here Chopin's omission of the flats lowering e to e, which is one of the most frequent errors he was known to commit. The conclusion is confirmed by the addition of a  lowering e3 to e3 in FE2 (→FE3). Two remaining necessary flats in this bar were added in FE3, yet one of them was misplaced before the upper note of the third, so it lowers g2 to g2 (the error is corrected by a pencilled entry in FED, cf. also bar 57). In GE and EE all three necessary flats were added.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Annotations in teaching copies , EE revisions , Errors in FE , Annotations in FED , Errors resulting from corrections , Terzverschreibung error , GE revisions , Omission of current key accidentals , FE revisions

b. 56

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

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FE1 overlooks the  raising f to f at the beginning of the bar. In FE this note is placed on the lower staff, hence the error also affects the 4th L.H. semiquaver. This layout was applied in other sources as well, except for GE2 (→GE3) which placed the R.H. part on the upper staff throughout, as in our transcriptions. This resulted in  before the 4th semiquaver being necessary only in the impressions of the 2nd German edition.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 57

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

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In A (→GC,→FE1→FE2) there are no flats lowering e2 to e2 and e1 to e1, which is a patent inaccuracy of notation.
The necessary signs were completed in GE and EE, as well as in FE3, in which, however, the first of the added signs erroneously lowers g2 to g2.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

issues: EE revisions , Errors in FE , Accidentals in different octaves , Corrections in A , Terzverschreibung error , GE revisions , FE revisions

b. 59-60

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

 in A

No sign in GC (→GE), FE & EE
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In A the clearly written  sign under the phrase of the L.H. was overlooked in all remaining sources.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Errors in EE , Errors of GC

b. 60

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

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FE1 has an erroneous e3 instead of d3 as the upper note of the first semiquaver in the R.H. This patent error was corrected while proofreading FE2 (→FE3).

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Authentic corrections of FE