Field nocturne doubt

[stormx]

Hi:

I am starting to learn Field nocturne nš 10 in E minor, and i have the following doubt:

Time signature is 12/8. In the lower staff there are usually 12 eight notes. In some bars, and exactly corresponding with 3 eight notes of the lower staff, there is in the upper staff a "dotted eight followed by a sixteen note" combo. Of course, this is not "mathematically" correct. I suppose it is some kind of notational convention.

How is this supposed to be played?

I know it would help to paste the sheet, but i dont know how to do it.

Thanks

[birba]

12/8?!  In my edition it's 6/8.  You aren't talking about no. 11 in Eb major, are you?

[birba]

If that's the case, there's nothing strange about it at all.  The dotted -
sorry, I just looked again and there are no dotted 8th notes in the nocturne.  Only dotted 4ths.
What are you talking about?!

[stormx]

Birba, it is indeed nš10 in my edition (Peters, revised by Koehler, can be free downloaded from IMSLP). Tempo indicaction is Adagio and time signature is indeed 12/8. First melody notes are E-B-G-D#-E. In bar 6 you can see the problem i described.

Thanks,

Juan

[stevebob]

In both the aforementioned Peters edition as well as the one by Liszt published by G. Schirmer (in which it is No. 9 of the set), there's an element to the time signature that hasn't been mentioned here:  at the start of the piece, 4/4 is printed in parentheses between the staves. 

This alternative time signature reflects that while each of the four primary pulses per measure typically is comprised of three eighth notes (i.e., the compound meter of 12/8), it may also on occasion be treated as an ordinary quarter note (and subdivided accordingly).  In the latter case, there would be nothing mathematically incorrect about a rhythmic group like the one mentioned in bar 6.

[stormx]

Thanks for your answer Steve !!

So ,it is indeed a "kind" of polyrythm. We have 3 notes in LH against 4 in RH (the first three tied). Right?

No so simple...

[stevebob]

So ,it is indeed a "kind" of polyrythm. We have 3 notes in LH against 4 in RH (the first three tied). Right?

I see an example of that in bar 14.  In bar 6, though, the last beat is notated in simple meter rhythm in both hands.