The slurring of FE in this and the next few bars is clearly inaccurate, which probably reflects the notation of [A] to a certain extent. Leading the first slur to the beginning of bar 261 obscures the natural division of the progression's parts, determined both by the structure of motifs and transfer of the hand. It is most probably a result of a misinterpreted slur of [A], written with a flourish. The musically unjustified placement of the slur in bar 262 under the bottom notes of the octaves may, in turn, point to some deletions and corrections in the base text. The defects in the next bars are less obvious; however, a correction of the slur written by Chopin in FED proves that the slur in bars 264-265 is also most probably erroneous.
EE and GE1 (→GE2) tried to organise the slurs of FE to a certain extent; it was the missing slur over bar 262 that was considered to be the most blatant mistake. Moreover, in GE, the beginning of the slur in bar 263 was reproduced inaccurately, starting only just from the 2nd quaver. In GE3, this erroneous interpretation was copied also in the previous analogous bars. There is no indication that any of the changes could be authentic.
The retouches introduced in the main text are based on the assumption that the slurs should not obscure the way of thinking based on two-bar sections, naturally marked by the progression's structure. It leads to shortening the slur in bar 260, combining the slurs in bars 261-262 and 263-264 and including the correction of the slur in bar 264 written in FED.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions
issues: Inaccuracies in FE, GE revisions
notation: Slurs
