Op. 50 No. 1, Mazurka in G major

It is unclear what the purpose of Afrag was supposed to be. Taking into account the clarity and legibility of notation, it was most probably supposed to be a fair-copy intended as a gift* or a Stichvorlage.

The absence of tempo-character, dynamic and pedalling indications may be explained by Chopin abandoning the work on this manuscript or by an earlier stage of notation, which would indicate that it had been created before A1. 

On the other hand, the manuscript includes 12 bars, written on one line, hence the notation is denser than in A1, written on the same paper. Wherever more than one more or less finished autograph remains, a denser notation is often typical for the later one, e.g. in the Mazurka in C Minor, No. 3, in which the earlier AI includes 3 pages, while the later A1 two (the difference is already visible in the first line, containing 10 and 13 bars, respectively). In some respects, Afrag ranks between A1 and GE1, e.g. the slurs in b. 1-2 and 9-12 are generally compliant with A1, yet in b. 3-9 with GE1. Therefore, on the basis of the above observations, one may conclude that it was written after A1, but before [A2], which means that it could have been an attempt at writing [A2].

Fewer ties are noteworthy, e.g. the tie of c¹ in b. 1-2, 5-6 and 9-10 is not marked (in the latter, b. 10 does not feature that note at all) or of G in b. 3-4.

^* As Krystyna Kobylańska writes in Rękopisy utworów Chopina [Manuscripts of Chopin's Works], vol. I, item 708 (Cracow 1977), Chopin may have performed an autograph-gift for the dedication's addressee, Leon Szmitkowski. Such commemorative manuscripts were generally performed prior to the publication, particularly when it comes to dedications' addressees, e.g. a copy of the Nocturne in F minor, Op. 55 No. 1, featuring Chopin's annotations, was given to Miss Stirling on 20 May 1844, yet the Nocturnes were not published until August that year. Therefore, Afrag could generally be a seed of this manuscript.