Chopin composed his melancholy “Barcarolle” op. 60 (1845–46) in the rare key of F-sharp major, perhaps to express his long period of dejection. The autograph engraver’s score for the first French edition bears witness to his creative struggles.

Now the work’s divergent and sometimes contradictory sources have been examined in a fresh light by the editor. The result is a reliable musical text with a detailed Critical Commentary (Eng) listing alternative readings and editorial decisions. Hardy Rittner has supplemented Chopin’s fingering from an historically informed perspective and discusses such crucial questions as the use of pedals, phrasing, rubato, dynamics and hidden counterpoint. An informative Foreword (Ger/Eng) provides information on the work itself.