mUltimate Chopin

Op. 38, Ballade in F major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Inaccuracies in GC

b. 79

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

..

In A the slur in the L.H. begins already over the rest, and in GC even before. It is an example of Chopin's frequent manner of writing sweeping slurs (cf. e.g. the slurs in Mazurkas, Op. 24), as well as Gutmann's characteristic imprecision in this domain of notation.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Source & stylistic information

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A , GE revisions , Inaccuracies in GC

b. 86

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

..

The topmost note of the last chord in the R.H. was certainly corrected in GC from a1 to b1. 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. 89-92

composition: Op. 38, Ballade in F major

Slur in A (→EE)

Slur in GC, literal interpretation

Slur in FE

No slur in GE
..

In GC bars 89-90 end the line of text. This caused the copyist to have erroneously omitted the opening part of the slur – he wrote only the ending fragment in bars 91-92. In GE this fragmentary slur was overlooked or omitted. For the joining of the slur in FE to the preceding one see the note in bar 88.
In A, the way the slur ends makes it clearly a "tenuto-slur". This was properly rendered only in EE. See also the note in bar 92.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in FE , Errors in GE , Inaccuracies in GC , Errors of GC

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. 92-93

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