Main text
Main text
A - Autograph
FC - Fontana's copy
FE - French edition
FE1 - First French edition
FE2 - Corrected impression of FE1
FED - Dubois copy
FEJ - Jędrzejewicz Copy
FES - Stirling copy
FESch - Scherbatoff copy
GE - German edition
GE1 - First German edition
GE2 - Revised impression of GE1
GE3 - Corrected impression of GE2
EE - English edition
EE1 - First English edition
EE1a - Corrected impression of EE1
EE2 - Revised impression of EE1a
compare
  b. 1-14

Long accents in A, contextual interpretation

& accents in FC (→GE)

 in FE (→EE)

The  marks in b. 1-2 and analog. are of different length in A – the shortest do not even reach the 2nd semiquaver of a given group, whereas the longest go beyond the 4th semiquaver. The differences are almost certainly of an accidental nature; therefore, in the main text we unify them on the basis of the following premises:

  • it is shorter marks that definitely prevail (two- and three-semiquaver long), which can be treated as long accents;
  • the vast majority of marks begin slightly before the first semiquaver of the group, which is typical of accents;
  • accents are the only reasonable interpretation of these marks if we take into account their quick succession in the indicated tempo and the structure of the figuration, in which the semiquaver triplets, which are in fact rhythmicized mordents, supported by quartal and quintal mixtures, constitute a natural melodic, harmonic and pianistic accent. 

Attempts to unify the discussed marks were also made in the remaining sources – each of those versions (in our transcriptions subject to minor ordering procedures) can be considered a possible interpretation of the notation of A. It seems, however, that the only factor taken into consideration there was the literal interpretation of the marks (particularly in the case of FE (→EE)), which was, moreover, influenced by a similar yet longer mark in the upbeat.

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Long accents, Inaccuracies in FE, Inaccuracies in FC

notation: Articulation, Accents, Hairpins

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