mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 3, Prelude in G major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Long accents

b. 3-12

composition: Op. 28 No. 3, Prelude in G major

2 short accents in FCI

Short accent in A, probable interpretation (→FC→GE, →FE→EE)

Long accent in A, possible interpretation
..

It is unclear whether the accent in A was supposed to be long or short, according to Chopin. Both FC (→GE) and FE (→EE) interpreted it as short; a short accent is also in FCI (as well as in b. 12). In the main text we also favour a short accent – both the acceleration of the tempo of the Prelude and the shortening of the rhythmic value of this note are an argument for a short, purely dynamic accent.
In FE (→EE) the accent was placed under the stave, which is a routine revision, frequently used by editors both in times of Chopin and nowadays. In this case, it does not influence the meaning of the sign; we do not include this detail in our transcriptions.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Long accents , Placement of markings

b. 14

composition: Op. 28 No. 3, Prelude in G major

Long accent in FCI, literal reading

 in FCI (contextual interpretation) & GE2 (→GE3)

No sign in A (→FC→GE1, →FE→EE)
..

It is unclear how to interpret the  mark in FCI. Due to the abridged notation of the L.H. part and the manner of writing semibreves more or less in the middle of the bar, it can be considered both a whole-bar  hairpin (the mark begins under the d2-b2 sixth, i.e. at the beginning of the bar, and ends close to the end of the bar) and a long accent (it has the right length and position with respect to the sixth). Actually, a similar problem can be observed already in analogous b. 5, in which, however, we consider the mark written in A as a hint on how to resolve this doubt. In the discussed bar we give both possibilities, since the absence of the mark in A does not allow us to directly support any of them; moreover, the mark in FCI is slightly shorter than the one in b. 5.
GE2 added a whole-bar  hairpin, certainly by analogy to b. 5.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources; Source & stylistic information

issues: Long accents , GE revisions