mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : GE revisions

b. 70

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

d1 in chord in A (→FC→GE1)

e1 in FE (→EE) & GE2 (→GE3)
..

The version of A (→FC→GE1) may seem erroneous:

  • in analog. b. 62, the 1st chord bottom note in all sources is e1;
  • in all other chords, it is only the chordal notes that are sometimes doubled, never delays;
  • in the entire four-bar phrase (b. 68-71), the top voice is doubled an octave lower, and one does not go beyond that span of an octave. The discussed place would be the only exception in this respect;
  • e1 was present in this place in the initial version of this bar: . If the correction was aimed at changing rhythmic values only (as was the case with analog. b. 62), d1 could have been written by mistake.

However, each of the above arguments can be countered:

  • minor changes in recurring phrases is rather a rule than an exception in Chopin's works. Even in the discussed place, the L.H. part was changed (in relation to b. 61-62), in a way compliant with the version featuring d1 – lowering the bass line increases the sonic stability of a chord, which, in turn, allows for a bolder use of dissonances;
  • the d1-d2 octave delay naturally resolves to an e1-c2 sixth;
  • going from the span of an octave to a bigger one in chords or figurations is typical of Chopin, cf., e.g. the following Preludes: No. 8 in F Minor, b. 6, No. 9 in E Major, b. 2, No. 20 in C Minor, b. 2 and 6, No. 23 in F Major, b. 14;
  • the correction could have been aimed not only at changing rhythmic values, but also at changing the course of the bottom R.H. voice in a subtle way.

Therefore, to the main text we adopt the version with very distinct d1 written by Chopin. The version featuring e1 appears only in the sources of uncertain authenticity (FE and GE2), but it was initially also in A; moreover, the absence of corrections in the teaching copies proves that it was accepted by Chopin during lessons. Therefore, it can be considered an equivalent variant.

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

issues: Corrections in A , Errors resulting from corrections , GE revisions , FE revisions

b. 75

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

..

In the 2nd half of the bar there are no accidentals before the 2nd and 4th bottom voice quavers in A (→FC,FE→EE1). It must be an oversight of Chopin, who, in his mind, changed the key to D major as the notation of g turned to a. The necessary accidentals were added in GE and EE2; in turn, the incomplete notation was not problematic for the pupils, since none of the teaching copies contains annotations here.
The  visible in FC before the last quaver was added later. 

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , GE revisions , Omission of current key accidentals , Errors of A , Errors repeated in FE

b. 79

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

..

A (→FC→GE1) gives 9 as the number of notes in the irregular semiquaver group (instead of 10). The mistake was corrected in FE (→EE) and GE2.
See also bar 4.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: GE revisions , Rhythmic errors , Errors of A , Errors repeated in GE

b. 83

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

in A (→FE→EE) & GE2 (→GE3)

No sign in FC (→GE1)
..

The missing  hairpin in FC (→GE1) must be a mistake of Fontana, who overlooked a few dynamic markings further on – in b. 84, the  hairpin in b. 85 and the accents in b. 86 and 87. The addition of that mark in GE2 indicates that the text of FE was used at random at the time of revision. 

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: GE revisions , Errors of FC