mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 17, Prelude in A♭ major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Errors in FE

b. 4-5

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

First slur to a1 in A, literal reading

First slur to end of bar 4 in FC (→GE)

Continuous slur to bar 10 in FE (→EE)
..

The range of the slur in b. 4 is unclear in A – it can be interpreted as a slur dragged to the a1 crotchet or as an unfinished slur/tenuto encompassing that crotchet along with the bottom voice quavers that fill it (as was reproduced by Fontana in FC). As it is slurs/tenutos that prevail in similar situations in the entire Prelude – particularly consistently from b. 65 on – in the main text we give such a slur. The continuous slur of FE (→EE), certainly contrary to the notation of A, probably resulted from the engraver's carelessness.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Inaccurate slurs in A , Tenuto slurs

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
..

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. 19

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

..

The  before the top note of the last R.H. quaver appears only in FCI. This produces no error in A and the sources retaining the original arrange­ment of chords – FC and GE – for an appropriate  appears on the upper staff before the 2nd L.H. quaver. However, in FE (→EE) which printed the entire L.H. part on the lower staff (as in our transcriptions), the accidental should have been added, but was not.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Errors repeated in EE

b. 22

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

..

In FE (→EE1) there is an erroneous  before the bottom note of the sixth (e1). The mistake was corrected in all teaching copies bearing traces of being developed with Chopin. A corresponding correction was also entered into EE2.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Annotations in teaching copies , EE revisions , Errors in FE , Annotations in FED , Annotations in FES , Annotations in FEJ , Errors repeated in EE

b. 43

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

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In A one can see that Chopin initially wrote the mordent with a conventional  mark. In the grace notes added instead of , the  before c2 merged with the arpeggio sign, resulting in a mark resembling a . Consequently, in FE (→EE1) the 2nd grace note is c2. Chopin reacted to this mistake in FES by adding a  in pencil (which Miss Stirling later wrote in ink). The correct text is also to be seen in EE2, probably on the basis of GE1.

In this place, FCI includes an earlier version – there are no ornaments on the 4th quaver in the bar, while b1 is linked with a tie to the dotted crotchet at the beginning of the bar.

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

issues: Annotations in teaching copies , EE revisions , Errors in FE , Corrections in A , Errors resulting from corrections , Deletions in A , Annotations in FES , Main-line changes , Inaccuracies in A