mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 20, Prelude in C minor

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b. 5-6

composition: Op. 28 No. 20, Prelude in C minor

Continuous slur in A (→FC,FE→EE), AB, ACh & CGS

Separate slurs in GE
..

The notation of the slurs of FC, although generally compliant with A, may raise doubts – the ending of the slur in b. 5, which closes the line, only slightly goes beyond the bar line; therefore, the fact that the engraver of GE assumed that the slur ended in b. 5 does not actually come as a surprise, especially since the previous three slurs practically reached the bar lines.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE

b. 5-6

composition: Op. 28 No. 20, Prelude in C minor

..

In FC (→GE), bar 5 is the last in line, and the L.H. slurs in FC do not indicate a continuation. This clearly contradicts not only the notation of A but also the musical common sense. In GE the slur in bar 5 reaches only the last crotchet, in bar 6, however, the traces of the slur having been shifted so as to suggest the continuation from the previous bar. In bars 9-12, based in GE on the script of bars 5-8 in FC (in the copy bars 9-12 are only marked as a repetition of bars 5-8), this edition has a continuous slur, confirming to a certain degree how musically obvious this slurring is. Taking this into account we only reproduce the slurs broken after bar 5 and 9 in the graphical transcription of FC ("transcript" version).

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in FC

b. 5

composition: Op. 28 No. 20, Prelude in C minor

..

We add a cautionary  before a1 in the main text.

category imprint: Editorial revisions

b. 6-10

composition: Op. 28 No. 20, Prelude in C minor

..

In the main text we add cautionary naturals before the F-f octave in b. 6 and 10.

category imprint: Editorial revisions

b. 7-12

composition: Op. 28 No. 20, Prelude in C minor

ritenuto in bars 7-8 in A (literal reading →FC,FE→EE1)

ritenuto in bars 11-12 in GE

ritenuto in both places in EE2

No indication
in AB & ACh

ritenuto in bar 7
in CGS
..

Due to the fact that b. 9-12 were added in the last phase of composing the Prelude and due to the abridged notation of those bars in A, it is uncertain how many ritenutos Chopin planned and where exactly. There are three possibilities, all are present in the sources:

  • ritenuto only in b. 7-8, where it was written in the manuscripts. We can observe this version in FE (→EE1).
  • ritenuto only in b. 11-12, like in GE.
  • ritenuto in both places, which is in EE2; it compiles the versions of FE and GE.

According to us, musically speaking, it is the ritenuto in b. 11-12 that is most natural, where, along with crescendo, it leads to the final fermata. We suggest this version (based on the assumption that Chopin did not fully adjust the notation of the Prelude to the new formal concept) in the main text.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , GE revisions , Inaccuracies in CGS