mUltimate Chopin

Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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b. 121

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

No slur in A (→FE1→GE,EE)

Slur in FE2
..

There is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the slur added in the stage of proofreading FE2. The absence of the slur in A could have been caused by corrections – see the preceding note.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors resulting from corrections , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 123

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Mordent with a2 in FE (→EE)
..

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

L.H. long accent in A

R.H. long accent in FE

R.H. short accent in GE

in EE
..

Due to the high position of the chord, the clear long accent over the L.H. chord is partially on the top stave in A, as a result of which FE (→GE,EE) linked it to the R.H. part. Consequently, the mark was also moved horizontally, hence in FE it looks like a long accent under the d3 quaver. This is how it was understood in GE, in which, however, it was reduced to the size of a common short accent. EE considered the mark a short diminuendo and slightly shifted it to the left.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Long accents , Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccuracies in FE , Inaccuracies in A

b. 124

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

No sign in A

Arpeggio sign in FE (→GE,EE)
..

In FE (→GE,EE), the arpeggio mark was almost certainly added by Chopin.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Authentic corrections of FE

b. 124

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

..

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