mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 21, Prelude in B♭ major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : GE revisions

b. 19-23

composition: Op. 28 No. 21, Prelude in B♭ major

..

In A Chopin overlooked a few necessary flats in the R.H. part: in b. 19 d2, in b. 21 d3 and g2, in b. 22 d2 and d3. FC added only the first  in b. 21; in addition, the copyist overlooked the  of g2 in b. 23. FE also added only some of the necessary flats, next to d2(3) in b. 21-22, and – which is puzzling – also overlooked the  of g2 in b. 23. GE and EE added all necessary accidentals.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Errors in FE , Accidentals in different octaves , GE revisions , Omission of current key accidentals , FE revisions , Inaccuracies in FC , Fontana's revisions , Inaccuracies in A , Errors repeated in FE

b. 23

composition: Op. 28 No. 21, Prelude in B♭ major

c2-a2-c3 twice in A (→FE→EE), contextual interpretation

c2-c3 twice in FC (→GE1)

d2-d3 & c2-c3 in GE2 (→GE3)
..

In the main text we give the version of A (→FE→EE), which does not raise any doubts, in spite of the missing  lowering a2 to a2 (it was added in EE). In the notation of FC, perhaps intentionally compliant with A, the middle notes (a2) in the grace note and the following crotchet are, however, completely imperceptible, hence they were not printed in GE1. The version of GE2 (→GE3) is an arbitrary revision; originally, it was modelled after the authentic version of b. 31, yet it was implemented inattentively – the change of pitch of the grace note made the following crotchet lose the flats lowering c2-c3 to c2-c3, which should have been added in that situation.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Errors in GE , GE revisions , Omission of current key accidentals , Errors of A , Errors repeated in FE

b. 31

composition: Op. 28 No. 21, Prelude in B♭ major

..

In A (→FE,FC→GE1) there is no  lowering a2 to a2. The accidental was added in EE and GE2. In addition, EE1 overlooked the  lowering g2 to g2, which was corrected in EE2.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Errors in EE , GE revisions , Omission of current key accidentals , Errors of A , Errors repeated in FE

b. 39-40

composition: Op. 28 No. 21, Prelude in B♭ major

No slur in A (→FC→GE1, →FE→EE)

Slur in GE2 (→GE3)
..

Adding a slur in the L.H. part, moving in parallel to the R.H., is a frequent revision in German editions (especially later ones) – cf., e.g. the Concerto in F Minor, Op. 21, II mov., b. 65-68.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: GE revisions

b. 50-52

composition: Op. 28 No. 21, Prelude in B♭ major

Minims g-g1 & f-f1 in A (→FC→GE1, →FE→EE)

Dotted minims in GE2 (→GE3)
..

Formally speaking, the revision of GE2 is justified – in the "voice" provided with a stem pointing upwards, the bar is incomplete. However, Chopin would rarely enter rests in such situations; an oversight of dots extending minims seems to be highly unlikely due to the fact that the notation of these chords was corrected a few times, including the crossed-out rest on the 3rd beat of b. 51.

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

issues: Corrections in A , GE revisions , Deletions in A , Accompaniment changes , Changed phrase length