mUltimate Chopin

Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Errors repeated in GE

b. 112

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

..

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. 140

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

..

In A (→FE→GE), there is no accidental to the 4th L.H. crotchet. Chopin's patent, as it seems, oversight went unnoticed by FE and the majority of GE; it was corrected only by EE and GE1a.

In A, the L.H. part was being corrected in this bar; consequently, due to deletions, Chopin was forced to write the final version on an adjacent stave. However, the flat was not overlooked due to the corrections, since it was also absent in the initial version of notation. The change concerned mainly rhythm, i.e. there were rests instead of the 3rd and 6th crotchets: . Before deleting the entire bar, Chopin probably changed the last chord too:  (both examples are to be interpreted in the key of E major, featuring A and a notes).

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

issues: EE revisions , Corrections in A , GE revisions , Deletions in A , Accompaniment changes , Inaccuracies in A , Errors repeated in GE , Errors repeated in FE

b. 169-170

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Continuous slur in A (→contextual interpretation of FE→GE) & GE1a

Separate slurs in EE
..

In A (→FE,EE), b. 169 ends the line, which resulted in an inaccuracy in the reproduction of the slur – at the end of b. 169 the aforementioned editions suggest that it should be continued, yet in b. 170 a new slur starts from the 1st crotchet (in all of them). In EE and GE1a these bars are in one line, yet each of them interpreted this vague notation differently – EE separated the slurs, while GE1a combined them. We reproduce the inaccurate version of FE and GE in the graphic transcription (version 'transcript'); by contrast, we adopt a continuous slur as the text of these editions (version 'edited text'), in accordance with A.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Inaccuracies in FE , Uncertain slur continuation , Errors repeated in GE

b. 170

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

..

None of the sources includes a  restoring e2 at the end of the bar. It must be Chopin's oversight – it is the most frequent mistake committed by Chopin. In this case, the likelihood of an error was additionally increased by the change of pitch of the note – initially, Chopin wrote here a2 in A – performed almost certainly due to the combination with the next bar.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Omissions to cancel alteration , Errors resulting from corrections , Errors repeated in GE , Errors repeated in FE , Errors repeated in EE

b. 179

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

in A (→FE→EE,GE1→GE1a)

No marking in GE2 (→GE3→GE4)
..

The missing  asterisk is another mistake of GE2 caused by graphic retouches (the first is the distorted slur). The subsequent impressions did not notice the mistake.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in GE , Errors repeated in GE