A1
Main text
Afrag - Autograph fragment
A1 - Autograph fair-copy
FE - French edition
FE1 - First French edition
FE2 - Second French edition
FED - Dubois copy
GE - German edition
GE1 - First German edition
GE2 - Second German edition
EE - English edition
EE1 - First English edition
compare
  b. 91

Short pedal in A1 (→FEEE)

Longer pedal in GE

Our variant suggestion

The pedalling in b. 91-100 shows a few significant differences between A1 and GE. In the preserved autograph it is:

  • more complete: in GE there are no markings in b. 93 and 95, which are present in A1,
  • more detailed: all pedals in GE encompass entire bars, whereas in A1 the markings also appear on the 2nd beat of the bar, where in b. 91 and 95 the pedal should be released and in b. 99 – changed.

While the overlooked markings are not problematic and may be considered Chopin's inadvertence, the differences in the three mentioned bars concern a difficult choice between a fuller sound with preserved bass note and the clarity of the harmonic sequence that would not mix delays with their resolutions (c1-b). If we consider the markings in all three places jointly, we can see that Chopin wrote there three variants of the pedalling: a pedal encompassing the entire bar, a pedal on the 1st beat of the bar and 2 pedals with change on the 2nd beat. Since each of them may sound good (if performed properly), in the main text we opted for a variant solution with the use of brackets. The notation is simplified, yet we believe that it will signalise the existence of the issue to the performers and suggest a solution without burdening the text excessively. The second  mark in b. 95 was added by us, hence we give it in square brackets. In the remaining cases, we only give the marks written by Chopin.

According to us, that issue could be generalised to b. 92 and 96, where the sources are compliant, yet, due to a fuller sound of the contemporary piano's middle register, it may be required to use one of the Chopinesque alternative versions of the pedalling from b. 91 and analog. Therefore, in those bars we suggest a similar solution with the use of the [] mark, the notation of which shows that it was added by us. 

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

notation: Pedalling

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Original in: Pierpont Morgan Library, Nowy Jork