mUltimate Chopin

Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Deletions in A

b. 171

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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Below you can find the original version of the accompaniment in the 2nd half of the bar: . This version is present in A, but the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th quavers are deleted; below, there are notes of the final version, placed a third lower. However, the traces of corrections present in FE prove that the deleted version was initially printed also in FE and only then changed in print to the final text. It is difficult to say how it occurred – the engraver could have misunderstood the correction in A (it is unlikely, since it seems clear) or Chopin could have had also A in front of him while proofreading FE1 and, by mistake, marked the correction in the manuscript first. Cf. a similar situation in b. 159-160.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Deletions in A , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 173

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

Mordent in A

Grace note in FE (→GE,EE)
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We consider the grace note in FE (→GE,EE) the latest authentic version, although it seems that the mordent present in A was not being removed at the stage of proofreading. No traces of corrections in print suggests that the engraver of FE omitted the ornament, and Chopin simply added a grace note while proofreading FE. Therefore, the deletions in A prove that the composer hesitated, since it was the grace note that was removed there and replaced with a mordent. In this situation, both versions may be considered equal variants. Similar variations are to be found in other pieces by the composer, e.g. in the Ballade in A, Op. 47, b. 3 and 39 or the Mazurka in C minor, Op. 30 No. 1, b. 1, 5 and 9, 13.

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

issues: Corrections in A , Chopin's hesitations , Deletions in A , Authentic corrections of FE , Main-line changes

b. 178

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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In A, Chopin shortened the rhythmic value of the b2-b3 minim by removing the dots and adding a crotchet rest.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Deletions in A , Main-line changes

b. 179

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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The traces of corrections performed in print of FE reveal that each of the three octaves in the 1st half of the bar was initially written down without division into parts, on one stem pointing downwards. The corrections in A suggest that Chopin introduced a similar change into A – the removed elements correspond to the octaves provided with stems pointing upwards only. It may be another case of "parallel" corrections of A and FE1 – see the description of that edition.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Corrections in A , Deletions in A , Authentic corrections of FE , FE revisions

b. 195-197

composition: Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

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In A one can see deleted slurs over the pairs of D crotchets in the 1st halves of b. 195 and 197. According to us, it does not mean that the articulation of those crotchets is to be different from the preceding similar pairs in b. 194 and 196. The removal of the slurs was aimed at maintaining a consistent notation of the entire section (b. 194-205), compliant with the notation applied in b. 9-21, in which the L.H. part slurs are put only where the accompanying pairs of crotchets, provided with slurs, are absent in the R.H.

category imprint: Corrections & alterations; Source & stylistic information

issues: Deletions in A