In the entire Polonaise this bar appears 4 times (b. 41, 67, 274 and 300). In GE none of those places includes a 
raising d to d
, which certainly corresponds with the notation of [A]. In turn, FE1 has a in b. 67, which Chopin almost certainly added in the stage of proofreading – had it already been in the basis for that edition, it would have also been in b. 300, which was a repetition thereof (not written out) in the manuscripts. We may wonder whether the change was supposed to concern only b. 67 and 300 or also b. 41 and 274 and whether Chopin changed here the initial version with d or simply corrected his oversight. According to us, in both cases it is the latter that is much more likely:
- If the change were supposed to concern only b. 67 and 300, the versions with d or d would appear alternately in the course of the Polonaise – first d2(3) in b. 15, then d in b. 41, d in b. 67, d in b. 274 and d in b. 300. In a broader perspective, with respect to b. 9-16, in b. 35-42 we would have numerous changes of melody and texture as well as a clearly audible alteration of the chord on the 3rd beat of b. 41, whereupon in b. 61-68, in spite of another element enriching the texture in the first four-bar section of this fragment, the second four-bar section would restore the conventional, not altered form of the discussed chord, which would be detrimental to the drama of the appearances of particular versions of this phrase. Therefore, it is an argument in favour of keeping the once used altered chord also in b. 67 or in favour of introducing it only just in that bar. In other words, as far as the structural logic of the piece is concerned, the appearance of the chord with d in b. 67 implies d also in b. 41. It would be strange if Chopin did not mark such an essential compositional change in all four bars or at least the first time it appears (b. 41 and 67). In turn, such an inaccuracy is completely understandable in the case of a correction of a mistake meant as an editorial procedure, without influence on the sonic shape of this place as heard by Chopin.
- It also seems likely that if Chopin had taken into account the version with d in any of the discussed bars (41 or 67) at all, he would have provided that note with a cautionary natural after d2(3) in b. 15 and d1(3) in the preceding bar (40 or 66).
Taking into consideration the above, in the main text we give the version with d in all places.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Differences between sources
issues: Omission of current key accidentals
notation: Pitch