mUltimate Chopin

Op. 31, Scherzo in B♭ minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description
Select: 
Category
All
Graphic ambiguousness
Interpretations within context
Differences between sources
Editorial revisions
Corrections & alterations
Source & stylistic information
Notation
All
Pitch
Rhythm
Slurs
Articulation, Accents, Hairpins
Verbal indications
Pedalling
Fingering
Ornaments
Shorthand & other
Importance
All
Important
Main
Undo Clear

b. 536

composition: Op. 31, Scherzo in B♭ minor

No  in A (→FC→GE, →FE→EE)

in bar 539 in GE2

in bar 537 in GE3

[] suggested by the editors
..

The sources lack an authentic pedal release mark of the pedal from b. 536. The  marks added in different places in GE2 and GE3 must be arbitrary. In the main text we suggest that the pedal is held throughout the entire four-bar section, based on one chord, until the end of crescendo, which is natural in this context.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

issues: GE revisions , No pedal release mark

b. 538-540

composition: Op. 31, Scherzo in B♭ minor

Slur &  in A, probable interpretation

5 accents in FC (→GE)

in FE (→EE)

Accents & , our alternative suggestion
..

In the main text we give 5 accents written by Chopin in FC, our principal source. The slur present in A was not reproduced both in FC and FE; Chopin also did not introduce it in any of them, although he was adding indications in this place in both of them. In turn, the  hairpin is preserved in FE and can be considered a fully-fledged variant. In turn, taking into account the fact that Chopin could have added it in A already after having proofread FC, we suggest it also as a variant completion of the version of FC.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Corrections in A , Chopin's hesitations , Authentic corrections of FC

b. 539-540

composition: Op. 31, Scherzo in B♭ minor

..

The range of the slur over the L.H. crotchets, present only in A, is unclear: its beginning falls on between the 1st and 2nd octave in b. 539. According to us, it is much more likely that the slur starts from the beginning of the bar, which is indicated by the shape of the slur.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A

b. 539

composition: Op. 31, Scherzo in B♭ minor

..

In the main text we add cautionary flats before the last two quavers.

category imprint: Editorial revisions

b. 540

composition: Op. 31, Scherzo in B♭ minor

No marking in A (→FC→GE)

in FE (→EE)

(), our variant suggestion
..

Chopin initially wrote a  in FC and then deleted it, probably replacing it with an accent. However, in the proofreading of FE, which must have been performed later, he used that indication again. Since we generally draw the Scherzo's performance indications from FC, which is most carefully developed by Chopin in this regard, we do not include that  in the main text. However, taking into account the fact that Chopin would frequently use a combination of  and an accent, we consider it to be possible to add that indication (in a variant form) to the accents adopted in the main text. 

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Chopin's hesitations