mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 7, Prelude in A major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : No pedal release mark

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. 16

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

..

At the end of the Prelude one can see in A a crossed-out pedal release asterisk, which confirms that these quite frequent situations in Chopin's pieces are not accidental inaccuracies of notation.

category imprint: Source & stylistic information

issues: Deletions in A , No pedal release mark