In the L.H. part in A one can see traces of numerous corrections performed in this bar; it is highly likely that Chopin returned to some of the deleted versions. Two of the written versions can be certainly interpreted or reconstructed:
- one of the deleted versions, probably the earliest one, is a repetition of the preceding bar and is compliant with the content of analogous b. 198 and 649 in A. It was copied into FC and then changed by Chopin there;
- the last of the written versions, which we give as the text of A, was initially printed in FE, where Chopin then changed it while proofreading*. According to us, it cannot be ruled out that the latest notation of A is inaccurate and that Chopin intended the last note to be a c1, which we suggest as an alternative interpretation. Such a possibility is implied by the corrections by the end of the bar – between the last two undeleted quavers one can see traces of three deleted ones, and the number of corrections was probably even greater. Engrossed in the quest for the best version, Chopin could have had difficulties in controlling the influence of the corrections in different parts of the bar on the final notation – such situations were quite common, e.g. in the Etude in E major, Op. 10 No. 3, b. 38.
Except for the two versions that passed into other sources, it seems that Chopin pondered upon some other possibilities, e.g. . Eventually, in all sources except for A there is one Chopinesque text, which we, therefore, give in the main text.
The fact that a non-final version of A was copied into FC proves that at least a part of the corrections of A was performed already after the copy had been performed. In spite of that, the Chopinesque corrections in FC are almost certainly even later (see the characterization of FC).
* In A there is a pencilled sign on the before the 2nd quaver, most probably . Since it was not included in FE, it is probably a later addition performed by a foreign hand.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information
issues: Corrections in A, Chopin's hesitations, Errors resulting from corrections, Authentic corrections of FE, Authentic corrections of FC
notation: Pitch