mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 7, Prelude in A major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description
Select: 
Category
All
Graphic ambiguousness
Interpretations within context
Differences between sources
Editorial revisions
Corrections & alterations
Source & stylistic information
Notation
All
Pitch
Rhythm
Slurs
Articulation, Accents, Hairpins
Verbal indications
Pedalling
Fingering
Ornaments
Shorthand & other
Importance
All
Important
Main
Undo Clear

b. 1

composition: Op. 28 No. 7, Prelude in A major

Andantino in A (→FC→GE, →FE→EE) & CGS

Lento misterioso in CXI
..

A possible authenticity of the indications of CXI remains purely hypothetical – the only assumption can be a correction, visible in A, of the initial Lento indication.  

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Corrections in A , Deletions in A

b. 1-2

composition: Op. 28 No. 7, Prelude in A major

 on E in A (→FC→GE, →FE→EE)

 on e1 in CXI

 on e1 (without ) in CGS
..

In A the  mark is written before the bass E, which, due to the significant horizontal spaces between subsequent notes, does not contribute to misunderstandings – both in FC (→GE) and FE (→EE) it was placed under that note. In turn, in CGS a respective mark was placed not only before the note (like in A), but also before the bar line; moreover, the e1 crotchet in the upbeat falls precisely over that mark, which already changes the meaning of that indication. Such a pedalling would be perfectly acceptable; however, it is difficult to say whether the copyist conveyed here a pedalling variant, perhaps authentic, or whether she simply inaccurately wrote the version of FE. A  mark at the beginning of the piece (written already under the time signature) appears also in CXI.

In CGS the discussed  mark is the only pedalling indication in the entire piece. Therefore, it suggests another possible explanation for such a position – placed at the beginning of the piece, the mark is just a general indication, according to which the pedalling should be natural (=harmonic).  

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: No pedal release mark , Inaccuracies in CGS

b. 1-12

composition: Op. 28 No. 7, Prelude in A major

Slurs in A (→FC→GE, →FE→EE) & CGS

No slurs in CXI
..

CXI includes only one phrase mark, in b. 13-16. As the source of the text of that manuscript remains unknown, it is difficult to say whether it was carelessness of the copyist or whether the phrase marks were absent already in the copied source. The former seems more likely, since the copyist was gradually including more and more elements of notation – apart from the aforementioned phrase mark, the second line of CXI contains, e.g. all necessary  asterisks, the majority of which were overlooked in the first line. We discuss the phrase marks in b. 4-8 separately.  

category imprint: Differences between sources

b. 3-4

composition: Op. 28 No. 7, Prelude in A major

Pedalling in A (→FC→GE, →FE→EE)

Incomplete pedalling in CXI

No markings in CGS
..

It is either inaccuracy of the copyist or a conscious simplification of notation by George Sand (see also b. 1-2), who knew the piece well, that are probably responsible for an almost complete absence of pedalling indications in CGS (apart from the  mark at the beginning of the piece). Due to the differences in the placement of the  marks, we discuss b. 5-10 and 13 separately.

category imprint: Differences between sources

b. 5-6

composition: Op. 28 No. 7, Prelude in A major

with bass in A (→FE,FC→GE) & EE2

 under semiquaver in CXI

No markings in EE1 & CGS
..

The placement of the  mark in CXI is probably an inaccuracy. However, if the manuscript was indeed based on a lost authentic source, such a later pedal, resulting in the notes ringing out clearer further on in the bar, could have come from Chopin.
The oversight of the  mark is probably an inaccuracy of the copyist – there is a similar situation in bar 8.
The missing pedalling indications in CGS – see b. 3-4.
The oversight of the engraver of EE1 was rectified in EE2.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Errors in EE