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Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra, Op. 36 ("Enigma"), commonly referred to as the "Enigma" Variations, is a set of fourteen variations on a theme, written for orchestra by Edward Elgar in 1898–99. It is one of Elgar's best-known large-scale composition, for both the music itself and the enigmas behind. Elgar dedicated the piece to "my friends pictured within", each variation being an affectionate portrayal of one of his circle of close acquaintances.
History
A story goes that one day in 1898, after a tiring day of teaching, Elgar was daydreaming at the piano. A melody he played caught the attention of his wife, who liked it and asked him to repeat it for her. So, to entertain his wife, he began to improvise variations on this melody, each one either a musical portrait of one of their friends, or in the musical style they might have used. Elgar eventually expanded and orchestrated these improvisations into the "Enigma" variations.
The piece was premiered at the St. James Hall in London on 19 June 1899, conducted by Hans Richter. Critics were at first irritated by the layer of mystification, but most praised the substance, structure, and orchestration of the work. It has been popular ever since.
Music
Scoring
The work is scored for 2 flutes (one doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B flat, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in F, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, tambourine, triangle, bass drum, cymbal, organ (ad lib) and strings (violin, viola, violoncello and double bass).Structure
The work consists of the theme, followed by 14 variations. The variations spring from the theme's melodic, harmonic and (especially) rhythmic elements, and the 14th extended variation forms a grand finale.Elgar dedicated the piece to "my friends pictured within" and in the score each variation is prefaced with either a nickname or initials, a clue to the identity of the friend depicted. The sections of the piece are as follows.
Theme (Andante)
- The theme consists of two contrasting melodic fragments, with the first one being the main theme which is going to be further developed in the following variations:
- The main theme is played by the first violin at the beginning. It is played for a second time after the second melody has been introduced by the woodwinds.
Variation 1 (L'istesso tempo) "C.A.E."
- Caroline Alice Elgar, Edward's wife. The variation contains repetitions of a four-note melodic fragment which Elgar reportedly whistled whenever arriving home to his wife; with a little imagination, something like "Hon-ey, I'm home"...
Variation 2 (Allegro) "H.D.S-P."
- Hew David Stuart-Powell, a pianist friend with whom Elgar often played chamber music.
Variation 3 (Allegretto) "R.B.T."
- Richard Baxter Townsend, an amateur actor and mimic, capable of extreme changes in the pitch of his voice, a characteristic which the music imitates.
Variation 4 (Allegro di molto) "W.M.B."
- William Meath Baker, squire of Hasfield, Gloucestershire and builder of Fenton, Stoke on Trent.
Variation 5 (Moderato) "R.P.A."
- Richard P. Arnold, the son of the poet Matthew Arnold, and himself an amateur pianist.
Variation 6 (Andantino) "Ysobel"
- Isabel Fitton, a viola pupil of Elgar. The melody of this variation is played by the viola.
Variation 7 (Presto) "Troyte"
- Arthur Troyte Griffiths, an architect, who attempted to play the piano, but was apparently not very good. The variation mimics his enthusiastic incompetence.
Variation 8 (Allegretto) "W.N."
- Winifred Norbury, a friend Elgar regarded as particularly easygoing, hence the relatively relaxed atmosphere. At the end of this variation, a single violin note is held over into the next variation, the most celebrated of the set.
Variation 9 (Adagio) "Nimrod"
- Augustus E. Jaeger, Elgar's best friend. It is said that this variation, as well as an attempt to capture what Elgar saw as Jaeger's noble character, depicts a night-time walk the two of them had, during which they discussed the slow movements of Ludwig van Beethoven. The name of the variation punningly refers to an Old Testament patriarch described as a mighty hunter, the name Jaeger being German for hunter.
Variation 10 (Intermezzo: Allegretto) "Dorabella"
- Dora Penny, a friend whose stutter (or laugh, depending on the source) is depicted by the woodwinds. Dora was the stepdaughter of the sister of William Meath Baker, inspiration for the fourth variation, and sister-in-law of Richard Baxter Townsend, inspiration for the third.
Variation 11 (Allegro di molto) "G.R.S."
- George Robertson Sinclair, the organist of Hereford Cathedral. More specifically, the variation depicts Sinclair's bulldog, which once fell into the River Wye.
Variation 12 (Andante) "B.G.N."
- Basil G. Nevinson, a well known cellist, who gets a cello melody for his variation. Later, Nevinson inspired Elgar to write his Cello Concerto.
Variation 13 (Romanza: Moderato) "* * *"
- Because of the lack of initials, the identity of this person is unclear and remains an enigma within the Enigma. However, the music includes a quote from Felix Mendelssohn's concert overture Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt), which leads to speculation that it depicts either Lady Mary Lygon, local noblewoman on a voyage to Australia at the time, or Helen Weaver, who was Elgar's fiancée before she emigrated to New Zealand in 1884.
Variation 14 (Finale: Allegro Presto) "E.D.U."
- Elgar himself, Edu being his wife's nickname for him. The themes from the first and ninth variations are echoed. The original Variation 14 is 100 bars shorter than the version now usually listened to. The lengthening was suggested by Elgar's friend Jaeger, the person depicted in the Variation 9, in July 1899, one month after the composition of the work had finished.
(Note: on some recordings, the Theme and the 1st Variation are conflated into a single track.)
As was common with painted portraits of the time, Elgar's musical portraits depict their subjects at two levels. Each movement conveys a general impression of its subject's personality; in addition, most of them contain a musical reference to a specific characteristic or event, such as Dorabella's stutter, Winifred Norbury's laugh, or the walk in the woods with Jaeger.
The enigma
The "Enigma" of the title refers to two puzzles. The first puzzle is to determine which of Elgar's friends each variation represents, and this has been solved with some certainty as outlined above. Elgar himself eventually provided brief notes on the subjects to accompany a piano roll version of the Variations. However, there also is a second, hidden theme, upon which all variations are based, which is never heard. Elgar once declared:
- The enigma I will not explain - its 'dark saying' must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the apparent connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme 'goes', but is not played.... So the principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas ... the chief character is never on stage.
Elgar also hinted that the hidden theme was itself a variation on some well known tune. Many have guessed at what this might be, but none yet have solved the enigma to general satisfaction.
Some have proposed the tune of the British national anthem, "God Save the King" as the enigma theme's inspiration; others prefer "Auld Lang Syne" transposed to a minor key, which suits the subject of "old acquaintance". Some music scholars believe the theme may be based on part of Mozart's "Prague" Symphony, which was on the program at the "Enigma" Variations' premiere in 1899. Also proposed has been the traditional Renaissance theme La Folia, whose chords roughly fit the theme, although Elgar's use of accented seventh notes would have been a decidedly nineteenth-century adaptation. A currently popular theory is that the theme is related to the "never, never, never" section of "Rule Britannia"; in particular, the phrase is clearly audible in the first five notes of the work, and there are several other possible hints in Elgar's own statements, in particular "So the principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas ... the chief character is never on stage."
Others believe that the unheard theme is actually a countermelody to some other tune — in other words it would fit in with it, but does not necessarily contain any of its characteristics other than the most general harmonic or structural outline.
References in other music
Elgar himself quoted Nimrod (Variation 9) in his later work The Music Makers.
In 1995, Rob Dougan's hit song Clubbed To Death featured a piano part reminiscent of the Theme and variations 1 and 12, that could be seen either as a new 15th variation, or his attempt at recreating the enigmatic hidden theme. (An MP3 file with only the Elgar-influenced piano parts is available in the links for Furious Angels.) This song, and thus the Theme, was played on soundtrack to the 1999 movie The Matrix, during the "The Lady in the Red Dress" scene.
David Ives wrote a play that took its name from the Variations. Steve Spiegl included a jazz version of Variation #9 in his album Enigma. The theme of the Enigma Variations was also used by On Thorns I Lay, a greek rock band, in the song A Blue Dream, which appears in the Orama album (1997).
References
- Nice, David (1996). Edward Elgar: an essential guide to his life and works. London: Pavillion. ISBN 1-85793-977-8.
External links
- Piano adaptation of Enigma Variations in MIDI file (104KB) The theme and its 14 variations are located at ca. 00:55, 02:05, 02:55, 04:20, 04:50, 06:25, 07:30, 08:28, 09:50, 12:22, 14:55, 15:53, 17:38, 19:13 in this 24-min track.
"Enigma Variations"