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While looking at the version of GE3 in bars 233 and 235, one can ponder whether Chopin could have overlooked there naturals lowering c
3 to c3:
- In each of those bars, there is a c2 two quavers later, and situations in which Chopin considered a once placed accidental to be valid also in other octaves are very frequent in his output – one can find dozens of such places in the very Concerto. However, in the vast majority of the cases, notes provided with an accidental appear before those written inaccurately (without accidental), which is not the case in the discussed bars. The above statement is not contradicted by oversight of the
lowering d3 to d3 in a similar situation in bar 239 – in that bar, d3 is a note belonging to the current key (F minor); in addition, the entire figuration of that bar was written correctly two bars earlier. - Irrespective of the likelihood of a mistake, one has to ponder whether such a close juxtaposition of a non-altered note with an altered one in another voice can be found in Chopin's music. Well, he employed such a procedure a few times, e.g. manifestly in the Etude in E Major, Op. 10 No. 3, bars 54-55.
- The version of FE without naturals, i.e. with c3, was not questioned in any of the four pupil's copies containing entries that may come from Chopin.
In conclusion, one can adamantly state that the version with c3 introduced almost 10 years after Chopin's death certainly did not correspond to his intention.
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category imprint: Differences between sources
issues: GE revisions
notation: Pitch