EE1
Main text
A - Autograph
GE - German edition
GE1 - First German edition
GE2 - Later impression of GE1
GET - Toruń copy
FE - French edition
FE1 - First French Edition
FED - Dubois copy
FEJ - Jędrzejewicz copy
FES - Stirling copy
FEFr - Franchomme copy
EE - English edition
EE1 - First English Edition
EE3 - Later impression of EE1
compare
  b. 41-43

 in A

GE1

GE2

Accents in FE

EE

The sources allow us to follow the process of evolution of dynamic markings in bars 39-46. At the stage of writing A Chopin drew the performer's attention to those bass notes that were struck when the right-hand part had rests or sustained notes (3  in bars 41-43). Three further bass notes marking the stretto of the harmonic progression in bar 44 were furnished with accents. One could wonder whether the lack of an accent on e flat in bar 45 was intentional or whether Chopin forgot about it when he continued to write on a new page of A.

That notation was distorted to a considerable degree in GE1, in which the first  and all the accents were omitted and the remaining  two  signs were placed in such a way that it was not obvious to which notes they related (this was corrected in GE2).

Chopin had that incomplete and unclear version before his eyes when he sat down to proof-read FE. He did not come back to his initial idea. He removed  markings from the left hand, thus making them serve the sole function of  reinforcing the highest notes in the right hand part. Instead, for the bass notes he used accents, emphasizing all the notes in the contra octave (7th semiquavers in bars 39-43) and newly appearing bass notes for subsequent chords (1st semiquavers of bars 41-43).

A thing worth noting is a certain switch between crescendo and accents: in the initial version crescendo began earlier, in bar  40, and accenting of bass notes later, in bar 41. In the later version accents appear as early as bar 39 and crescendo not until bar 41. 

The change of shape of some accents in EE is one of more frequent arbitrary changes appearing in that edition.

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: EE revisions, Inaccuracies in GE, Authentic corrections of FE

notation: Articulation, Accents, Hairpins

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Original in: National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh