mUltimate Chopin

Op. 63 No. 2, Mazurka in F minor

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Issues : Main-line changes

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b. 28

composition: Op. 63 No. 2, Mazurka in F minor

b1 in As

a1 with  in FE (→GE,EE)
..

It is unclear whether the different version of the beginning of the bar – b1 without an ornament as the 1st R.H. note – is an actual variant or simply an inaccurate record of the sketched melody (cf. bar 26).

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

issues: Main-line changes

b. 28

composition: Op. 63 No. 2, Mazurka in F minor

Crotchet in As

Quaver, rest & semiquaver in FE (→GE,EE)
..

In As the 2nd beat does not differ from the version of bar 20, which must be the initial version, enhanced in the process of preparing the Mazurka for publication.

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

issues: Main-line changes

b. 29

composition: Op. 63 No. 2, Mazurka in F minor

f1-g1 in As

e1-f1 in FE (→GE,EE)
..

As in bar 21, in As the melodic voice is moved one second higher compared to the final version. The remaining voices are not written out, which hints – also as in bar 21 – at repeating the version of bar 17.

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

issues: Accompaniment changes , Main-line changes

b. 31-32

composition: Op. 63 No. 2, Mazurka in F minor

Dotted rhythm in As, probable contextual interpretation

Dotted rhythm in As, possible interpretation

Minim in FE (→GE,EE)
..

In As, only the upper R.H. voice is sketched, while the notation of the quaver in bar 31 is inaccurate and unclear – a spot of ink, which can be considered the note head, is located slightly below the middle of the stem of this quaver, which corresponds to the note a1, possibly a1 (assuming omission of ). The stem itself ends at the height of d1 (d1). The note head could also be a smaller dot under the staff, it could be interpreted as d1 or perhaps b. Without access to the original, however, it is difficult to say whether and which of these spots is significant at all, as they may be small ink chips or even spots unrelated  to the writing process. The pitch of the intended note would then be determined by the very end of the stem. Assuming that the lower voice written in bar 23 is repeated in this bar, we consider the two versions given as variants to be reasonable readings. The interpretation of the lower dot as the note b could mean that Chopin marked the final version of the lower voice here (c1-b-g), which leads to versions obtained by combining the variants given here with the corresponding variant of the note pertaining to the lower voice of the R.H. (this possibility seems the least likely, taking into account the degree of inaccuracy of the record – the lack of a stick, a natural, and, above all, a ledger line).

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

issues: Main-line changes

b. 34-36

composition: Op. 63 No. 2, Mazurka in F minor

Minims in As

Dotted rhythms & crotchets in FE (→GE,EE)
..

Rhythmic comminution of the upper R.H. voice in bars 34 and 36 was introduced by Chopin only when preparing the Mazurka for printing. It is worth noting that in bars 23-24 and 31-32 the direction of changes was the opposite – the version with shorter rhythmic values was the original one (the  rhythm was replaced by a minim).

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Main-line changes