Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Fantasie vs. Fantaisie

You miss my point. I never said "waltz" was a German word. What I meant was that if we can call Chopin's "valses" by the English name why can't a person (perhaps a German!) call the "fantaisies" by their German name? For English speakers the German name "fantasie" is much closer to the English "fantasy".

Thanks for clarifying.
And I have another good answer for you.

I'm not talking about "a German" using the German word. I'm talking about English-speaking using the word and claiming that it's essentially correct (for Chopin's pieces).

I can see calling Chopin's pieces by:

-- their name in one's own language, whatever that may be, or...
-- the principal other name by which they are known; generally this would be the main name under which they were published.

For Chopin, and considering that you and I are English-speaking, for the most part that would be:

-- English, or
-- French, or
-- sometimes other languages but never (as far as I know) German.

I went into this in some detail in an earlier post. As I pointed out up there, I'm pretty sure there is no category of Chopin pieces (omitting "Fantasie" for the moment) that is referred to by the "German" name.

Yet, for "Fantasy," we constantly see "Fantasie."

OK, let's be logical (and honest) and try to put it all together.

You tell me.....what's more likely: that for "Fantasy," unlike with any other category of Chopin piece, people are using the German name?

Or that they are unknowingly following a simple misspelling of the French word, in view of the fact that French is the common language for several types of Chopin pieces unless we use the English word?

BTW.......it's fine of course not to care about this. Most people wouldn't.
But please don't persist (as some others are) in pretending that I'm not making sense.

Hey, I never suggested you weren't making sense. On the other hand it is possible that you are splitting hairs into nano-hairs.

But your theory that people are unknowingly following a simple misspelling of the French word may well be valid. I have yet to see a score that has the German spelling "fantasie". More commonly, even when they are selling scores with the French "fantaisie" printed on them, many sellers advertise them as "Fantasie-Impromptu". Here's an example:
Fantasie? Fantaisie?

So, it is quite plausible that people are misspelling the French word and ending up fortuitously with a correct German word that means the same thing! Strictly speaking then it should be "Fantaisie-Impromptu". This is the kind of stuff that music dissertation committees like to go over with a fine tooth comb.

Surreal, isn't it? Or maybe awesome is more apposite.

Steven

Thanks -- I sure ain't got no complaint about that.
And that's a great example you gave. (How did you find it???)
You're saying essentially what I was saying, only less intensely, which of course is better.

BTW......I didn't mean to imply that you were saying I didn't make sense; it was part of the reference to other posters. I just worded it badly.

I happen to be working on that piece even as we speak. Before starting, I sought out several different editions, as is my wont. That Joseffy edition was one of them.

Interestingly, in my AMSCO Collection of Piano Classics, printed in the US, they use the German word, Fantasie.... Oops, I had almost typed the French word now...

Why not check out how many places say "miniscule".....

He did a search.

Even I can laugh at that now.

BTW.....he didn't.