mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 5, Prelude in D major

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b. 15-32

composition: Op. 28 No. 5, Prelude in D major

..

In A Chopin applied signs indicating a repetition of the preceding figure to mark b. 15 and the L.H. part in b. 32. In FC Fontana also used an abbreviation to mark b. 16 (which resulted in a mistake) and the R.H. part in b. 32.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Source & stylistic information

issues: Abbreviated notation of A , Fontana's revisions

b. 16

composition: Op. 28 No. 5, Prelude in D major

a2 at end of bar in A (→FE→EE1)

a2 in FC (→GE) & EE2
..

The version of FC (→GE) resulted from a mistake of the copyist, who did not notice the  before the last note in b. 16 in A and marked b. 15-16 as a repetition of b. 14 (in A it is only b. 15 that is marked as a repetition; b. 16 is written out with notes). The presence of that version in EE2 proves that the revision of that edition took into account the text of GE1, which was considered authoritative. See also b. 17.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors of FC

b. 17

composition: Op. 28 No. 5, Prelude in D major

..

In GE there are cautionary naturals before a in the L.H. and a1 in the R.H. They were added because of a2 (erroneous) at the end of b. 16. Under the influence of GE1, that addition – just like the  of a2 in b. 16 – was also introduced in EE2.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , GE revisions

b. 17

composition: Op. 28 No. 5, Prelude in D major

 in A, contextual interpretation

  in A (literal reading→FC,FE→EE)

 in GE
..

It is uncertain whether the  mark concerns the third or fourth semiquaver in A – the mark begins under the third and ends under the fifth semiquaver. A comparison with analog. b. 1 suggests the 3rd semiquaver, from which the broken A9 chord starts, and this is the version we suggest in the main text. The version of the remaining sources – except for GE, in which the preceding  mark was placed after the 3rd semiquaver – can be considered an equal variant.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccuracies in A

b. 18-20

composition: Op. 28 No. 5, Prelude in D major

Pedalling in A

Pedalling in FC

Pedalling in FE (→EE)

Pedalling in GE
..

In A the pedalling of these bars, seemingly inconsistent and differing from analog. b. 2-4, could be considered inaccurate, e.g. due to having been written in haste. However, it turns out that if we take into account the R.H. part, the pedalling markings fall almost exactly in the same place as the first time. It seems highly unlikely that it could have been an accident; therefore, Chopin apparently marked pedal changes in this vibrating dominant ninth chord to separate the sections with minor ninth (b1) from the sections with major ninth (b1). This is how we interpret it in the main text. In the remaining sources, the  marks were rather adjusted to the L.H. notes; moreover, GE arbitrarily moved the last change of pedal to the beginning of b. 20.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: GE revisions , Inaccuracies in A