mUltimate Chopin

Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Inaccuracies in GE

b. 15

composition: Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

No sign in AI & CDP

 in A & FE

 in GE

 in EE
..

An accurate determination of the range of  hairpins in A is impeded by different length of the sign's arms and inaccurately aligned first figures in the left and right hands. We assume that the sign is graphically correlated to the 3rd and 15th semiquavers, belonging to a secondary melodic motif.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE , Scope of dynamic hairpins , GE revisions , Unclear hairpins in A

b. 17-18

composition: Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

Small notes in CDP, GE1 & EE

Small notes in bar 17 in AI & A

"Big" notes in FE & GE1a (→GE2→GE3)
..

The sources differ in the size of note heads of the third semiquaver in each of the groups. In the main text, we give the version of FE, confirmed by Chopin proofreading of GE1a (→GE2→GE3). The heads of normal size ("big") signalise here the appearance of an additional melodic line in the tenor voice. In the remaining sources, the voice is not distinguished (EE) or it appears only at the beginning of bar 18 (AI and A).

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE , EE inaccuracies , Authentic corrections of GE

b. 19

composition: Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

Long accent in AI

  in A

  in FE & GE2 (→GE3)

  in GE1 (→GE1a)

  in EE
..

The long accent in AI is the original version – in A and the editions, there is a pair of dynamic hairpins. According to us, the differences in range do not have any significant meaning, therefore, in the main text we give the signs of FE, which seems to have the most accurate markings in these few bars (from bar 17).

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Inaccuracies in GE , GE revisions

b. 25

composition: Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

..

The cresc. indication appears in AI more or less in the middle of the bar. It is the only dynamic indication in this bar there (together with the dashes determining its range). In A the indication is written – inside the  hairpins – slightly earlier, on the 2nd beat of the bar. In GE and FE it was placed later, at the beginning of the 3rd beat, while in EE earlier, at the beginning of the 2nd beat (in the latter the dynamic indications were separated by placing cresc. under the hairpins). 

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE

b. 25-26

composition: Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

Two slurs in AI, A (→CDP), FE & EE

One slur in GE
..

The slurring of these bars in A is not entirely clear due to the transition to the new line of the text. However, it does not seem that Chopin would like to deviate from the clear slurs he wrote in AI. This is how it was most probably understood in the base texts for FE and EE, as well as CDP. The two-bar slur in GE is a different attempt to interpret the notation of A, yet it does not reveal anything concerning Chopin's view on this issue.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE