mUltimate Chopin

Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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b. 112

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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FE (→GE) overlooked the  to the top note of the 1st R.H. chord (c3). The mistake was corrected in EE.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

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

b. 113

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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In A, Chopin overlooked two necessary accidentals – a  to f and a  to b. Both inaccuracies were removed in FE (→GE,EE). By contrast, in the R.H. part, the  to b1 in the middle of the bar was unnecessarily repeated; it was included in all editions. We omit this accidental in the main text.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Accidentals in different octaves , Cautionary accidentals , Authentic corrections of FE , FE revisions

b. 119

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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In the main text, we add a cautionary  over the mordent. Interestingly enough, in many later editions of the Ballade, the editors added a  here. However, in spite of the fact that the key prevailing in the previous fragment is A major, which would suggest g2, nothing points to Chopin's oversight. Bars 118-119 are based on an F7 chord, considered the dominant to B minor, which is supported by the use of a d2-d3 octave in the following sequence of octaves. In the context of the B minor key, a mordent featuring g2 is the natural choice. In addition, in bar 121, which is a sequential repetition of b. 119, based on a G7 chord as the dominant to C minor, a g1-g2-a2-g2 figure appears. It contains a mordent on g2, played on the beat, with an a2 minor second, corresponding to the g2 minor second in b. 119.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Editorial revisions

b. 123

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Mordent with a2 in FE (→EE)
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According to us, the sharp over the mordent, added almost certainly by Chopin while proofreading FE (→EE), does not change the sound, but specifies the incomplete notation of A. It is already the G minor chord in the preceding bar that suggests the further direction of the modulation; a modulation that, through the G minor key (featuring a), showed explicitly in the octave sequence in the discussed bar, and the e-g-b-d chord in the next two bars strives for the dominant chord in D minor in b. 126 (which found its eventual resolution on E major 12 bars later).
The easiest explanation for GE missing the  is the engraver's oversight.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Errors in GE , Authentic corrections of FE , Inaccuracies in A

b. 124

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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In A (→FE), there is not a single accidental in the R.H. passage in the entire 2nd half of the bar. This simplified notation was supplemented both by GE and EE.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Accidentals in different octaves , GE revisions , Inaccuracies in A , Errors repeated in FE