Schonbergian, I didn't mean to target anyone and certainly not you, but I must admit that our interaction on the other thread jogged me into finally posting on a subject that I had been thinking about for a while and needed to get off my chest. Of the clutter, those little periods are certainly not the worst offenders.
Knut, you seem to understand the situation quite well even from my wordy description, but here is an example from a Chopin Waltz(?). It only exists as a single sketch that was first published in the 1950's. There are no performance instructions in the sketch, so any editor is faced with adding some slurs at the very least.
- Chopin Grace note slur.jpeg (26.45 KiB) Viewed 9019 times
- Chopin Grace note slur example 2.jpeg (51.65 KiB) Viewed 9019 times
1a This would be my preferred slurring, since the piece seems more a waltz than a mazurka (although there are mazurka-like touches) and the grace notes would probably be of the connective type.
1b This would be the same with the traditional extra slur. It tempts the unwary player who thinks of slurs as indicating phrasing rather than as legato into making a break before the grace notes.
1c This would counteract 1b, but I have never seen it done. For me, it seems to be clutter.
2a Were one to perform the piece more in mazurka-style, this would be my preferred slurring. This is the slurring in the Henle edition.
2b This is the same with the traditional extra slur. In this case it reinforces the break and seems more acceptable.
Regarding stemming in the example:
Note the immediate change of stem direction after the first note of the melody in the sketch. If continuing the prevailing stem direction were simply a convenience, why would he change direction here, where the next note should be up-stemmed and the note following is the flexible middle line note? In fact, he changes stem direction so the three upcoming notes, which form a unit, have the same stem direction and match the next three, which form a similar unit, and the next three which also form a similar unit.
This is what Henle does with ms. 1-2, destroying the unity of the three note motive by including the upbeat in the slur and changing the stem direction and implying that the third beat of measure 1 is an upbeat into measure 2 by breaking the slur. That this cannot be correct may be seen by the absence of an upbeat to measure 5 of the sketch and the same stemming as measure 1.
- Chopin Grace note slur example 3.jpeg (10.4 KiB) Viewed 9019 times