Determining Chopin's intention, as far as the sound of the grace note chord in the L.H. is concerned, seems to be impossible due to the lack of visible traces of performing changes in the sources. Each of the three source versions can be authentic, yet each of them can be a result of misinterpretation of the manuscript by the engraver or the copyist, as determining the presence of the middle note in a chord written on ledger lines can be very difficult in Chopin's manuscripts – cf. notes to bars 73 and 111 of this etude and, e.g., to the Etude in E
major, Op. 10 No. 11, bar 43 or the Waltz in A major, Op. 42, bar 48. In this situation, in the main text we give the chord in the version of the basic source, i.e. FE.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Differences between sources
issues: Uncertain notes on ledger lines
notation: Pitch
