b. 243-244

 

 

 

 

The pedalling of these bars and particularly the placement of the  asterisk raise doubts in the sources. The sign is present only in FE (→EE), which can be explained with an oversight of the copyist, if it were not for the fact that at the first appearance of this place (bars 55-56), based on the same notation of [A], the sign is absent in both GC and in FE. In this situation, an arbitrary (erroneous?) addition of an asterisk by the engraver of FE seems to be likely and due to this reason, we alternatively suggest [] one bar earlier, as it is in bar 55.

The total absence of pedalling in GE1 is a patent error of the engraver, who, already in the previous bars, had difficulties with concentration and overlooked a few pedalling signs written in GC. The version of GE2 confirms that in the manuscripts there was no  sign in bars 55-56.

In spite of the above reservations, in the main text we give, however, an asterisk after FE (→EE):

  • Chopin could have added it in [A] already after having prepared the copy, while the engraver of FE overlooked it for the first time (in bar 56) and reproduced it in bar 244;
  • while preparing the base text to EE, Chopin did not correct the sign taken from FE, which can be considered to indicate the acceptance of this version. Anyway, it cannot be excluded that the composer hesitated from the very beginning where to put this sign and this is why he overlooked it (perhaps unconsciously), then he added it first after two bars (in [A] – see the previous point), then after one (in the base text to EE).

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in GE, GE revisions, FE revisions

notation: Pedalling

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