The return of the first section of the Scherzo after the Più lento section (bars 189-257) is not written out with notes in GC (except for marked bar 189). The empty bars are only numbered to avoid doubts which fragment is to be reprinted, whereas a respective numbering is written also in bars 1-69. Interestingly, the copyist did not finish these indications both for the first and the second time:
- the numbering of bars 1-15 and 17-19 is written by Gutmann's hand and from bar 20 – by Chopin's hand. Bar 16 was overlooked by the copyist and the next three are marked erroneously as 16-18 (the numbering was corrected – in pencil – most probably only by the engraver of GE).
- in the reprise, the copyist's writing stops more or less in two thirds of the line dedicated for the respective fragment – after bar 50 there is only a digit 5. The ending of the line, both bar lines and the numbering starting from the digit '1' in the number '51' are written by Chopin's hand.
According to us, it reveals an ambiguity in the original notation of [A], hence the copyist was not certain how the abbreviation should end. Fearing further misunderstandings, not only did Chopin finish the basic notation of the abbreviation, but, due to the length of the non-written section, he also marked an additional reference point in the form of a double bar line before bars 37 and 225.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Source & stylistic information
issues: Abbreviated notation of A, Authentic corrections in GC
notation: Shorthand & other