Variation XI G.R.S. with 'Ein feste Burg'

Sinclair siting next to his dog and Elgar

"When there is an original sound in the world, it makes a hundred echoes."

John Shedd

Variation XI is dedicated to George Robertson Sinclair (1863 – 1917). He was an organist at Hereford Cathedral from 1889 until his death in 1917. During the 1890s he performed chamber music at the Elgar residence with the Fitton sisters, Basil Nevinson, Hew Steuart Powell and Winifred Norbury. Elgar frequently visited the Sinclair home and composed musical fragments in the visitor book.

Ein feste Burg may play through and over Variation XI as shown in Figure 13.1. A sound file of this solution is available here. 

Ein feste Burg was carefully mapped over Variation XI as shown in Figure 13.2. The precise manner in which the unstated Principal Theme plays "through and over" Variation XI was determined based on melodic interval mirroring, and a combination of melodic and chordal note conjunctions. Melodic interval mirroring occurs when note intervals from the source melody are mirrored or reflected in the variation over similar or identical beats between notes. In the vast majority of cases, melodic intervals are mirrored by the same notes in both the variation and the unstated Principal Theme. A melodic conjunction occurs when the melody notes of both themes are of the same pitch. A chordal conjunction is defined as a shared pitch between the melody of Ein feste Burg and any non-melodic note in the variation.

Table 13.1 identifies 62 melodic conjunctions between Ein feste Burg and Variation XI. A melodic conjunction is defined as a note shared by both melody lines at the same time. Share melody notes are dispersed over 28 of 41 measures in Variation XI. The unstated Principal Theme was found to be dormant in 5 measures (457, 490 – 493). Four of these five inactive measures consist of a codetta at the end of the movement. Consequently, there are shared melody notes in 28 out of 35 measures, or 80% of the movement when Ein feste Burg is active.

Table 13.2 breaks down melodic conjunctions between Ein feste Burg and Variation XI by note type. There are eight shared melody note types with frequencies ranging from 2 to 18.

Table 13.3 gives a breakdown of all shared notes between Ein feste Burg and Variation XI. These shared notes consist of melodic and chordal conjunctions. A melodic conjunction occurs when the melody notes of both themes are of the same pitch. A chordal conjunction is defined as a shared pitch between the melody of Ein feste Burg and any nonmelodic note in the variation. There are 241 shared notes dispersed over 33 measures out of a total of 41 measures. As was previously observed, Ein feste Burg is dormant and does not play in five measures. Consequently, almost 92% of the movement contains sequentially shared notes with the unstated Principal Theme. 62 melodic notes and 179 chordal notes are shared between Variation XI and Ein feste Burg. There are 12 shared note types with frequencies ranging between 2 (F sharp & G sharp) and 52 (G).

Table 13.4 summarizes all note conjunctions between Ein feste Burg and Variation XI, giving percentages for each note type in both the melodic and chordal categories.

Conclusion

Based on data presented in Figures 13.1-13.2, and Tables 13.1-13.4, the preponderance of the evidence proves Variation XI is a clear and convincing counterpoint to Ein feste Burg.

Soli Yah Gloria