mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 20, Prelude in C minor

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Verbal indications

b. 1

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

 in A (→FC→GE, →FE→EE), AB & CGS

in ACh

No marking in CGS
..

The  indication in ACh suggests a slightly different concept of the Prelude, less heroic and dramatic. It is not the only change with respect to the version of A – the cresc. in the last phrase starts in ACh one and a half bar earlier.
The missing indication in CGS must be an oversight – the copyist also forgot to write the time signature on the bottom stave. 

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in CGS

b. 5

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

 in A (→FC→GE, →FE→EE), AB & ACh

No marking in CGS
..

As was the case with b. 1, the missing  in CGS is most probably an oversight.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in CGS

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

b. 9

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

 in A (→FC,FE→EE), ACh, CGS & GE2 (→GE3)

 in GE1
..

The fact that the  indication was repeated in GE1 resulted from distraction of the engraver; he did not notice (did not understand?) the  indication written in the abridged marking of that bar in FC. The mistake was rectified in GE2 (→GE3). See also the note to b. 11-12.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in GE , GE revisions

b. 11-12

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

cresc. - - in A (→FE→EE)

cresc. in bar 12 in FC

No indication in GE

cresc. in ACh

cresc. -, cresc. in CGS
..

In the main text we give the indication after A (→FE→EE). In A its correct placement is not possible due to the abridged notation of those bars; however, we consider the interpretation adopted in FE (→EE) to be accurate – due to the dashes marking the range of the crescendo, all that matters is to determine its starting point, which falls more or less in the middle of the bar. Placing cresc. (with no dashes) only in bar 12 is undoubtedly a mistake by Fontana, aggravated in GE by the omission of the indication.
In the 9-bar version of AB the dynamic course could have been different, hence the missing cresc. does not have to be considered an inaccuracy. An earlier beginning of the crescendo, as it was marked by Chopin in ACh, may be considered an equal variant.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in GE , Errors of FC , Inaccuracies in CGS