mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 2, Prelude in A minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : FE revisions

b. 1-3

composition: Op. 28 No. 2, Prelude in A minor

Arrangement of voices in As & A (→FC→GE)

Part arrangement in CGS

L.H. part arrangement in FE (→EE)
..

The two-part notation of the L.H. part, in which the recurring B-A-B-G motif is isolated, was already introduced in As and kept in A (→FC→GE). Unlike in As, in which all 3 bars are written like that (with the use of abbreviations), in the version prepared for print Chopin wrote only the first 2 bars like that; they must be regarded as a pattern for the next ones, already written down in a simplified manner. The adoption of that simplified notation in FE (→EE) already in b. 1-2 was almost certainly an arbitrary decision of the engraver, who, not having observed a possibility to apply the beaming used in GE and in our text (essentially tantamount to the Chopinesque notation), considered the authentic notation to be impossible to reproduce in print. The notation adopted in CGS indicates that the top voice on the bottom stave should be performed with the R.H., which is more convenient, particularly for smaller and less skillful hands. The authenticity of that notation is not confirmed; however, it seems likely – see the characterization of CGS.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: FE revisions

b. 11-12

composition: Op. 28 No. 2, Prelude in A minor

in A

in FC & EE

No sign in FE1

in FE2

in GE

in CGS
..

The corrections and crossings-out visible in A reveal the changes performed both to the range and the position of the  hairpin in this place (As does not contain any dynamic markings). The initial mark, written between the staves, started between the 6th and 7th quavers in b. 10, which was changed by Chopin – he moved the beginning under the last quaver in that bar. Eventually, both versions were crossed out, and a new hairpin was written over the R.H. part, which we give in the main text. Although the new mark begins at the end of b. 10, both FC (→GE) and FE2 (→EE) placed its starting point only in b. 11 – these changes cannot come from Chopin, since he did not directly participate in the publication of the Preludes after having finished A. The longest mark of CGS is most probably an arbitrary interpretation of the hairpin of FE2 by the copyist. 

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Errors in FE , Scope of dynamic hairpins , Corrections in A , Deletions in A , FE revisions , Inaccuracies in FC