FE1
Main text
AI - Working autograph
AF - Autograph fair-copy
FE - French edition
FE1 - First 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. 189

g in AI

g in AF (→FEEE)

No g in GE

The crossings-out visible in AI allow us to follow the changes the ending of b. 188 and the beginning of b. 189 underwent. They involve transformations of the entire four-bar section spanning b. 185-188, which in the L.H. part was initially an exact repetition of b. 181-184 – there was no C-G fifth at the beginning of b. 185, while the c note was tied twice throughout 4 bars. The following version was written first, which is indicated by the placement of the c-e third, i.e. exactly under the 1st R.H. quaver: . Chopin then changed the ending of the tenor voice, forgoing a characteristic f-e transition: . Eventually, the c bass note, held for a long time, was replaced with two C-G fifths played at the beginning of b. 185 and 189, respectively: . AF (→FEEE) generally repeated the latter; however, the way it was written down and marked differs slightly from this version:

  • Chopin transferred the g note in b. 189 to the bottom stave, which clearly pointed to this note as continuation of the phrase from the preceding bar,
  • he added an accent over this note,
  • he omitted the slur combining the g quaver in b. 188 with the C-Gfifth.

In this situation, the version of GE seems to be an alternative refinement of the version of AI:

  • g at the beginning of b. 189 was omitted,
  • instead of an accent, Chopin added a three-bar  hairpin in b. 189-191,
  • the slur combining the g quaver in b. 188 with the C-G fifth was preserved, and the fifth provided with a staccato dot.

Taking into account the fact that the performance indications concerning the preceding phrase are more elaborate in GE – L.H. slurs in b. 180-182 and 185-188,  and accent in b. 185 – we believe that it is also in the discussed place that the version of GE is to be regarded as the most mature; therefore, we adopt it in the main text.

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Accompaniment changes, Main-line changes

notation: Pitch

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Original in: Fryderyk Chopin Museum, Warsaw