mUltimate Chopin

Op. 44, Polonaise in F♯ minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : EE revisions

b. 84-97

composition: Op. 44, Polonaise in F♯ minor

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In this entire section (until b. 102) GE include staccato dots over all R.H. quavers and semiquavers written on the bottom stave; this is also the notation we give in the main text. FE and EE contain less dots, which must have resulted from oversights, most probably by the engravers of those editions – FE overlooked dots on the 2nd beat in b. 89 and 91, while EE also those at the beginning of b. 84 and on the 2nd beat of b. 93, 95 and 97.
See also the note in b. 83.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Errors in FE , Errors in EE

b. 89

composition: Op. 44, Polonaise in F♯ minor

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FE unnecessarily repeated a  to d1 in the 2nd group of demisemiquavers.
In the main text we add cautionary sharps to g-g1 and f-f1.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

issues: EE revisions , Cautionary accidentals

b. 91

composition: Op. 44, Polonaise in F♯ minor

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In FE1 (→EE1) the 1st note in the 2nd L.H. demisemiquaver group is a d. The patent mistake was rectified in FE2 and EE2 (→EE3).

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Errors in FE , FE revisions , Errors repeated in EE

b. 94

composition: Op. 44, Polonaise in F♯ minor

E-e in GE

C-c in FE (→EE)
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In the main text we give the enhanced version Chopin introduced while proofreading FE (→EE). A similar change was entered into b. 96; in both places one can see traces of changes being performed in print. The same applies to analogous b. 118 and 120.
In FE there are no accidentals to the changed notes, which, when interpreted literally, would result in C-c. The patent oversight was corrected in EE1 by adding a  to the bottom note. In the main text we add 2 naturals in accordance with the manner in which Chopin wrote down this section – cf., e.g. the naturals to the F-f quavers in b. 88, 90, 92. Two naturals are also in EE2 (→EE3).

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: EE revisions , Errors resulting from corrections , Omission of current key accidentals , Authentic corrections of FE , Main-line changes

b. 98

composition: Op. 44, Polonaise in F♯ minor

c(1) in GE & FE

c(1) in EE
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The compliance of the versions of GE and FE with each other proves that the version of EE is wrong. The engraver could have, e.g. confused the 1st beat of this bar with a similar respective fragment of the preceding one. However, an identical difference in analogous b. 122 is a strong argument against the possibility of a mistake – a mistake in the same place several dozen bars later seems extremely improbable. Due to the above reason, we consider a revision of EE to be more likely – the engraver, having added the overlooked naturals lowering c(1) to c(1) in the previous bar, could have assumed that it was also here that a mistake could have been committed in FE, this time consisting in printing flats instead of naturals.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions