mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 17, Prelude in A♭ major

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b. 1

composition: Op. 28 No. 17, Prelude in A♭ major

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In A one can see that Chopin initially wrote  to mark the time signature on both staves. Moreover, the eventually left 6/8 reveal (also on both staves) minor crossings-out, which seem to be digits preceding the digits 6, although it is difficult to guess what their meaning could be. Anyways, it is an example of Chopin's hesitation, since the time signature in FCI, which was written earlier, is 6/8, like the final version.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Changes of metre , Corrections in A , Chopin's hesitations , Deletions in A

b. 19-21

composition: Op. 28 No. 17, Prelude in A♭ major

g1 & c2 tied in FCI

g1 & c2 repeated in A (→FE,FC→GE)

g1 (quaver) & c2 repeated in EE
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In the version prepared for print, hence the latest one, Chopin abandoned the ties to g1 in b. 19 and c2 in b. 20-21, since nothing suggests that respective ties could have been overlooked.
At the beginning of b. 19, FE omitted the rest in the lower R.H. voice, and the dot prolonging the crotchet g1. The EE version of the first half of this bar could be an effort to correct this unclear notation. Interestingly, traces of a deleted beam encompassing the first half of b. 19 are also visible in FC.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: EE revisions , Errors in FE

b. 21

composition: Op. 28 No. 17, Prelude in A♭ major

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In FC (→GE) the first c2 note is a dotted crotchet. The mistake was probably provoked by the complicated layout of this bar, in which the d1-f1 third of the 2nd L.H. quaver is written on the top stave next to the c1-g1 fifth of the bottom R.H. voice, thus creating an illusion of a third quaver filling c2 of the top R.H. voice.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Errors of FC , Errors repeated in GE

b. 31

composition: Op. 28 No. 17, Prelude in A♭ major

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In FCI there is one other bar following b. 31, actually identical with the final version of b. 31 – the only difference is that the e2 minim is tied there and not played. In FCI this additional bar, which we mark as 31', differs from the previous one in the bass note having been moved an octave lower: in b. 31 it is e, while in b. 31' – E.  

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

issues: Changed phrase length

b. 32

composition: Op. 28 No. 17, Prelude in A♭ major

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In FCI d2 is played already at the beginning of this bar. According to us, the version cannot be considered a variant for the final text, since the top voice rhythm is a natural consequence of the length of the phrase, which in FCI is one bar longer than in the version prepared for printing – see the previous note.

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

issues: Main-line changes