Elgar's Bridge Passages Enigma Ciphers

I have in the Variations sketched ‘portraits’ of my friends — a new idea I think — that is each variation I have (looked at) the theme through the personality (as it were) of another Johnny — ask Jaeger about this.

Edward Elgar

This is the seventh article in a series that surveys a cornucopia of cryptograms in three bridge passages from the symphonic Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. A section in classical music that elides one movement into another is called a bridge passage. These three bridge passages add up to nine measures and comprise less than one percent of the full score. The preliminary four articles catalog assorted cryptograms in the first bridge passage (bars 18-19) that begins at Rehearsal 2 and links to Variation I (C. A. E.). The first essay covers the Opus Dei Cipher. The second discusses the Psalm 46 Ciphers. The third describes the Tau Cross Ciphers. The fourth addresses other interrelated word ciphers embedded within the performance directions of the first bridge passage. The fifth presents a series of cryptograms in the second bridge passage (bars 185-188) that starts four bars before Rehearsal 19 and links Variation V (R. P. A) to Variation VI (Ysobel). The sixth article explores fourteen cryptograms ensconced within the third bridge passage (bars 305-307) in Variation XIII (W.N.) that connects to Variation IX (Nimrod).

These cryptograms illustrate Elgar’s expertise in cryptography, a subject that merits an entire chapter in Craig P. Bauer’s treatise Unsolved! A decade of concerted analysis has netted over ninety cryptograms in diverse formats that encode a set of mutually consistent solutions that furnish definitive answers to the core questions posed by the Enigma Variations. What is the secret melody to which the Enigma Theme is a counterpoint and serves as the melodic cornerstone of each movement? Answer: Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) by Martin Luther. What is Elgar’s “dark saying” ensconced within the Enigma Theme? Answer: A musical Polybius box cipher situated in measures 1-6. Who is the secret friend and inspiration behind Variation XIII? Answer: Jesus Christ, the Savior of Elgar’s Roman Catholic faith.

Three Bridge Passages Opus 36 Cipher

This article will identify and decrypt cryptograms formed collectively by the three bridge passages. The first is constructed from the number of movements linked together by bridge passages. Three bridge passages connect six movements from the Enigma Variations. These totals are a coded allusion to the opus number (36), and the tempo marking (63) for the Enigma Theme, Variation I (C. A. E.), and Variation V (R. P. A.). All of the movements in common time are associated with the first and second bridge passages.

Three Bridge Passages Cross Cipher

There are numerous coded allusions to the cross within the Enigma Variations. For example, there are fourteen stations of the cross, the route that Jesus walked on his way to the crucifixion. Likewise, there are fourteen variations assigned Roman numerals. Jesus was executed by the Romans at reportedly the age of 33, and there are precisely 33 Roman numerals in the titles of Variations I through XIV. The Enigma Theme, Variations I, V, and XII are written in common time. The pattern used to conduct common time replicates the sign of the cross. A bridge section represents a place to cross. Consequently, three bridge passages may be interpreted to symbolize three crosses. That is significant as there were three crosses at the execution of Christ where he was crucified between two criminals.

The John 2:19 Ciphers

There are coded allusions to the numbers 2 and 19 in the first and second bridge passages. The first bridge passage starts at Rehearsal 2 and ends in bar 19. The first bridge passage begins at Rehearsal 2, and the second bridge passage ends at Rehearsal 19. These two numbers hint at the chapter and verse of John 2:19. How is it possible to connect the numbers 2 and 19 to “John” when Elgar never refers to that name in any of the titles from the Enigma Variations? Elgar wrote in a letter from February 1899, “I have in the Variations sketched ‘portraits’ of my friends — a new idea I think — that is each variation I have (looked at) the theme through the personality (as it were) of another Johnny — ask Jaeger about this.” In this passage, Elgar links the name “John” with all of the variations. That name is intimately associated with the ministry of Jesus because he was heralded and baptized by John the Baptist.

There is a famous incident where Jesus was confronted by the religious authorities in Jerusalem. They demanded a sign of his divine authority to reprimand and chase out the corrupt money changers from the Temple. Jesus replied in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” This response confused the religious elites as they thought he was referring to the Temple that took over 40 years to build. Through this dark saying, Jesus actually meant that he would raise himself from the dead three days after his execution. John 2:19 is a prophecy about the death and resurrection of the Messiah. These allusions to the chapter and verse of John 2:19 within the first and second bridge passages are part of a larger pattern of coded references to the cross and Jesus within the Enigma Variations.

Three Bridge Passages “See Ed” Cipher

There are two bars in the first bridge passage, four in the second, and three in the third. Each bridge passage connects to the first bar of the ensuing movement, resulting in the addition of one extra bar to each bridge passage to complete the link. That increases these bar totals to three, five, and four. When the numbers 3, 5, and 4 are converted into their corresponding letters in the alphabet using a number-to-letter key (1 = a, 2 = b, 3 = c, etc.), they produce the plaintext C, E, and D. The letter C is a homonym of see, a word with Edward Elgar’s initials (EE). The letters ED is the short form of Edward. CED is a coded version of the phrase, “See Ed.” The name “Ed” is encoded in all three bridge passages.

The sums of the bars from these three passages plus the extra linkage bar to the next movement are remarkable for another reason. The sequence and quantity of the letters in the three-word title Ein feste Burg are also 3, 5, and 4. This raises the possibility that Elgar may have enciphered these letters in those three bridge passages in bars 18-20 (EIN), bars 185-189 (FESTE), and bars 306-309 (BURG). The note tied over the barline into measure 309 is G, lending circumstantial evidence for this hypothesis. That is the first measure of Rehearsal 33 where the third bridge passage concludes, and the last letter in Ein feste Burg is also G. Further research is required in this area before a determination can be made.

Three Bridge Passages Six-Letter Titles Cipher

There are six movements connected by bridge passages into pairs:

• The Enigma Theme is linked by the first bridge passage (bars 18-19) to Variation I (C. A. E.)
• Variation V (R. P. A.) is connected by the second bridge passage (bars 185-188) to Variation VI (Ysobel)
• Variation VIII (W. N.) is tied by the third bridge passage (bar 308) to Variation IX (Nimrod)

These six movements may be categorized into two subgroups based on their titles. Three of the movements are given names (Enigma, Ysobel, Nimrod) that each possesses six letters. The remaining three titles consist of initials (C. A. E., R. P. A., and W. N.). There is an intriguing acrostic anagram involving the three bridge movements with six-letter titles:

• Enigma (Theme)
• Ysobel (VI)
• Nimrod (IX)

The first letters of those three movements in order of appearance spell EYN, a phonetic rendering of EIN. Ysobel is a nickname for the dedicatee, Isabel Fitton. That nickname is a version of Isabel, a realization that permits the substitution of I for Y. This results in EIN, the first word in the covert Theme’s German title. The first three letters of Enigma (a German word) are also an anagram of Ein.

When the Roman Numerals VI and IX are combined with the initial T from Theme, it produces an anagram of VIXIT. This is a conjugation of the Latin verb Vivere (to live) which means, “He lived.” This word appears extensively in the genealogies of the Latin Vulgate beginning with Genesis 5:3. This Latin conjugation in the past tense indicates that the person had lived and then died. Such a reading intersects with the dedication of Variation XIII to Jesus who died at Calvary.

Three Bridge Passages Initials Cipher

Three of the six movements linked together by bridge passages have biblical names that form an anagram of the first word in the covert Theme’s German title. The remaining three titles consist of three sets of initials:

• C. A. E.
• R. P. A.
• W. N.

Before embarking on a cryptographic analysis of these initials, it is important to recognize that Elgar employed inventive spellings in his personal correspondence. Some examples of these phonetic variants are listed below:

1. Bizziness (business)
2. çkor (score)
3. cszquōrrr (score)
4. fagotten (forgotten)
5. FAX (facts)
6. frazes (phrases)
7. gorjus (gorgeous)
8. phatten (fatten)
9. skorh (score)
10. SSCZOWOUGHOHR (score)
11. Xmas (Christmas)
12. Xqqqq (Excuse)
13. Xti (Christi)

An appreciation of this aspect of Elgar’s writing style permits a consideration of phonetic spellings within the initials C. A. E., R. P. A., and W. N. Below is one breakdown of two possible anagrams from these initials:

• CANA
• PWER

Thes dual encoding of the name “CANA” with “PWER,” a phonetic rendering of power, hints at the first miracle of Jesus. Multiple lines of research corroborate that Jesus is the secret friend portrayed in Variation XIII who first demonstrated his divine power at the wedding feast at Cana by miraculously transforming ceremonial water into exquisite wine. A phonetic rendering of wine is formed by the initials of Variation VIII (W. N.).

Two other possible letter combinations from this same subgroup of initials are shown below:

• CRWN
• PANE

“CRWN” is a phonetic version of crown with the circular letter O absent. “PANE” is a phonetic spelling of pain. Jesus was tortured by his Roman captors when they fashioned a crown of thorns and pounded it down on his head with a wooden cane. Could these phonetic decryptions simply be an elaborate case of confirmation bias? Or are these converging solutions centered on a narrow set of interlocking answers the more logical explanation?

These three movements with titles consisting of initials may be contemplated with their corresponding Roman numerals:

• I. C. A. E.
• V. R. P. A.
• VIII. W. N.

When the eight initials and six Roman numerals (ICAE VRPA VIIIWN) are analyzed collectively for possible anagrams, one astonishing solution emerges from the meaningless tangle of gibberish: “VICAR VIA WINE PI”.

The word Vicar is defined as an ecclesiastical agent such as a bishop or priest. The Bishop of Rome is the pope who is known as the Vicar of Christ. The term Vicar is a revealing clue that divulges the identity of the secret friend memorialized in Variation XIII.

The term Via is remarkable because the path that Jesus walked as he carried his cross to Golgotha is called the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the “Sorrowful Way.” This circuitous route begins at the Antonia Fortress and passes nine stations of the Cross before arriving at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The path that Jesus crossed features nine stations of the cross, and similarly, the third bridge passage ends at Variation IX. According to Roman Catholic tradition, Jesus was crucified at the age is 33. Variation IX begins at Rehearsal 33. There are fourteen stations of the cross with the remaining five within the church. This presents a parallel with the Enigma Variations that has fourteen movements assigned Roman numerals from I through XIV.

The word wine is theologically important because the first recorded miracle performed by Jesus was to turn water into wine. At the Last Supper, Jesus instructed his disciples to drink ceremonial wine representing his blood in perpetual remembrance of his supreme sacrifice.

The term “PI” is significant because a rounded form of that mathematical constant (3.142) is enciphered by the melodic intervals of the Enigma Theme in bars 1 and 11. This important cryptographic discovery was achieved by Richard Santa and published in Columbia University’s journal Current Musicology. That unique number represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. A musical Polybius box cipher encodes the name “Jesus” in the first bar of the Enigma Theme. Pairing the decryptions of the Pi cipher in bar 1 with the Music Box Cipher produces the phrase “Pi Jesus.” This is a variant of “Pie Jesu” (Pious Jesus) from the final couplet of the Dies Irae that has been set to music by such composers as Luigi Cherubini and Gabriel Fauré.

Three Bridge Passages “EFB” Cipher

The first bridge passage is two measures in length (bars 18-19) and begins at Rehearsal 2. The Rehearsal number and sum of the bars in this first bridge passage place an emphasis on the number two. The second letter in the alphabet is B. This is further suggested by the first and last melodic notes in the first bridge passage which are B and B-flat. The second bridge passage begins four bars before Rehearsal 19 and connects Variation V to VI. The Roman numerals of these associated movements represent the numbers 5 and 6. The fifth and sixth letters in the alphabet are E and F. The first and second bridge passages encode the initials for the covert Theme, Ein feste Burg.

Variation I is the first movement with a Roman numeral preceded by a bridge passage. The conversion of the Roman numeral I to its corresponding letter in the alphabet produces A. That is the first word in the English title of the covert Theme: A Mighty Fortress. The position of the Roman numeral I in the score is directly above the A in the initials C. A. E.

The third bridge passage begins three bars before Rehearsal 33 and connects Variation VIII to IX. The Roman numerals of these movements stand for the numbers 8 and 9. The eighth and ninth letters in the alphabet are H and I, respectively. The letters “HI” are a phonetic spelling of High. One English translation of Ein feste Burg is High Tower and Stronghold is our God by B. P. Whittingham in J. H. Hopkins’ Songs, Hymns and Carols published in 1882. The letters “HI” allude to the first word in this translation of the covert Theme’s title.

Concluding Remarks

This overview identified seven different cryptograms formed by the three bridge passages of the Enigma Variations. These ciphers encode a discrete set of answers that relate incisively with the covert Theme and secret friend of the Variations. The discovery of any of these cryptograms in isolation could be comfortably written off as a coincidence. However, the sheer number of ciphers in these three bridge passages cannot be conveniently attributed to chance or confirmation bias, particularly as they encode a discrete set of interlocking answers. These coded patterns betray a grand design and Elgar’s genius for cryptography. To learn more about the innermost secrets of the Enigma Variations, read my free eBook Elgar's Enigmas Exposed. Please help support and expand my original research by becoming a sponsor on Patreon.

Soli Yah Gloria

Longfellow's Cross in Elgar's Enigma Variations

Lux, Dux, Rex, Lex. On the northern wall of the church of St. Pierre de Dorat is sculpted a simple Greek cross with this inscription. It represents the Cross as the light and guide and law and ruler of the world. These all centre in the cross, and radiate from it.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in The Golden Legend

The composer Edward Elgar encoded a series of words and phrases in the titles of the Enigma Variations. These decryptions are documented in my article Elgar’s Proximate Title Letters Enigma Ciphers. The encipherment technique relies on adjacent letter formations in the titles. Some remarkable examples are Christ, Abide, Pieta, Lamb, Bride, Bread, and Beads. These solutions reinforce the conclusion that Jesus is the secret friend portrayed in Variation XIII. Elgar experimented with five lists of the Enigma Variations before finalizing the order. Now the explanation for these varying lists is known as he was devising a series of cryptograms within those titles.

Those who hastily dismiss these discoveries require constant reminding that Elgar was an expert in cryptography. This fact merits an entire chapter in Craig P. Bauer’s treatise Unsolved! A decade of concerted analysis has netted over ninety cryptograms within the Enigma Variations. These ciphers encode a set of mutually consistent solutions that provide definitive answers to the core questions posed by the Enigma Variations. What is the secret melody to which the Enigma Theme is a counterpoint and serves as the melodic cornerstone of each movement? Answer: Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) by Martin Luther. What is Elgar’s “dark saying” ensconced within the Enigma Theme? Answer: A musical Polybius cipher situated in measures 1-6. Who is the secret friend and inspiration behind Variation XIII? Answer: Jesus Christ, the Savior of Elgar’s Roman Catholic faith.

One of Elgar’s other passions was the poetry of the American author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This interest was nurtured and fed from early childhood by his mother, Ann Elgar, who saturated her brood with Longfellow’s artistic weltanschauung through regular readings of his works. She was not alone in her admiration for that great American poet and ambassador of Christianity. Two years after Longfellow’s death, the English public erected a memorial bust in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey next to no less than Chaucer. During his burgeoning career as a composer, Elgar turned to Longfellow’s works to stoke his creative output. Michael Pope concludes, “. . . Longfellow possessed the imponderable spiritual qualities required to fire Elgar’s imagination.”

The poetry and prose of Longfellow served as the stimulus for at least five of Elgar’s compositions. The first is Spanish Serenade Op. 23, a work for chorus and orchestra written in 1892 based on Act I of Longfellow’s play The Spanish Student. The second is The Black Knight Op. 25, an oratorio composed in 1893 and inspired by Longfellow’s translation of Uhland’s “Der schwarze Ritter” from his novel Hyperion: A Romance:. The third is Rondel Op. 16 No. 3, a song for voice and piano set in 1894. The fourth is The Saga of King Olaf, a cantata composed in 1896 that was inspired by Longfellow’s epic poem by the same title. The fifth is The Apostles, a sacred oratorio that premiered in 1903 and is based partly on Longfellow’s The Divine Tragedy (1871). Longfellow’s epic Christian poem is part of a trilogy with The Golden Legend (1851) and The New England Tragedies (1868).

There is a famous compilation of medieval hagiographies about the saints compiled and written by Jacobus da Varagine called The Golden Legend. It is known by the Latin titles Legenda Aurea and Legenda Sanctorum. The name of Longfellow’s epic poem was drawn from this medieval work. There is a unique association between the words dark, enigma and Christ in Longfellow’s The Golden Legend. The heroine Elsie says to Prince Henry in Chapter IV, “Faith alone can interpret life, and the heart that aches and bleeds with the stigma / Of pain, alone bears the likeness of Christ, and can comprehend its dark enigma.” Elgar wrote in the original 1899 program note, “The Enigma I will not explain — it’s ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed . . .” With those carefully chosen words, Elgar deftly alludes to one of Longfellow’s most influential poetic works.

Longfellow’s poetry was also the impetus for Arthur Sullivan’s sacred cantata The Golden Legend. Elgar was intimately familiar with this work as he served as a sectional violinist in performances of it during May 1887, September 1887, and November 1892. He also attended another performance in September 1898, a month before he began composing the Enigma Variations. Elgar’s daughter Carice wrote, “My father always spoke with great feeling and respect for Sullivan and admired The Golden Legend.” There is a coded allusion to The Golden Legend in the first bridge passage (bars 18-19) that connects the Enigma Theme to Variation I.

Elgar was knowledgeable about Longfellow’s The Golden Legend which inspired Sullivan’s greatest cantata. The title page of The Golden Legend features a Greek Cross with the overlapping Latin inscription, “Lux, Dux, Rex, and Lex.”

Longfellow explained that this Christogram “. . . represents the Cross as the light and guide and law and ruler of the world.” This description encapsulates his Christian worldview that attracted and retained Elgar’s unbridled attention for decades. The Latin word Lux means “Light” and appears in the title of Elgar’s first sacred cantata, Lux Christi. Dux is the Latin word for “Leader” or “Ruler.” The Latin term Rex means “King.” Lex is Latin for “Law.”

A reassessment of the proximate letters in the titles of Variation XIII and XIV reveals the coded emergence of the Latin terms from Longfellow’s Cross.

The first word to appear from Longfellow’s Cross is an acrostic anagram of REX. This word is formed by the first letter of the subtitle Romanza from Variation XIII, Elgar’s first initial (E. D. U.), and the first Roman numeral from Variation XIV. This Latin term was written on the sign posted at the crucifixion of Jesus that listed one of his crimes as being the “King of the Jews” (Rex Judaeorum).

The next word from Longfellow’s Cross proceeding counterclockwise is DVX. This word is formed in reverse order by every other letter from the Roman numerals and initials of Variation XIV (E. D. U.). It is pronounced “Dux” because V is the equivalent of the letter U in the classical Latin alphabet. It is fitting that the Latin word for “Leader” is encoded in the title of Elgar’s movement. As the composer of the Enigma Variations, he served as the leader of this ambitious project.

It is significant that the Latin word DUX is also enciphered by the first Roman numeral and second and third initials from the title of Variation XIV (E. D. U.). Elgar enciphered two spellings of this Latin word by efficiently using four out of six letters available from the three Roman numerals (XIV) and three initials (E. D. U.) of his movement.

The earliest sketch of Variation XIII documents that the original title was written as three Xs in blue pencil followed by “Var.” (an abbreviation of Variation) in black ink and a large capital L in blue pencil. Remarkably, the original title presents a reverse acrostic of “LVX” which is the classical Latin realization of “LUX.”

Elgar's LVX acrostic cipher on his short score sketch of Variation XIII.

The inclusion of the absent L from the title of Variation XIII permits the spelling of the next word from Longfellow’s Cross, LEX. The l from Finale would also suffice for this purpose. Lex is the Latin word for “Law.” In Matthew 5:17, Jesus taught that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.

The final word from Longfellow’s Cross is LVX. This word is enciphered by the absent L for Variation XIII paired with the first and third Roman numerals from Variation XIV. The X could also be provided by the first Roman numeral from XIII, permitting a phonetic spelling as LX.

The alternate spelling of LVX as LUX is also possible using the absent L from Variation XIII and the U and X from Variation XIV (E. D. U.).

Concluding Remarks

Elgar was an expert in cryptography when he composed the Enigma Variations between October 1898 and July 1899. Consequently, the discovery of a cornucopia of ciphers within that breakout symphonic work is consistent with Elgar’s psychological profile. Elgar’s mother imbued him with a deep and lasting respect for Longfellow’s artistic vision that merged German romanticism with Christianity. Elgar melded his artistic output with Longfellow’s poetry in a string of works produced between 1892 and 1903. At the conclusion of the extended Finale to the Enigma Variations, Elgar cites a passage from Longfellow’s poem Elegiac Verse. He wrote, “Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art is of ending.” With this quotation at the end of the Variations, Elgar suggests that other Longfellowian elements are lurking in that particular area of the score. An analysis of proximate title letters reveals that four Latin words from Longfellow’s Greek Cross in The Golden Legend are enciphered by Variations XIII and XIV. This discovery is part of a larger pattern of coded references to the cross in the Enigma Variations.

The ciphers of the Enigma Variations encode a discrete set of answers that identify the covert Theme, the Enigma’s “dark saying,” and the secret friend of Variation XIII. The discovery of any of these cryptograms in isolation could be comfortably written off as a coincidence. However, their sheer number cannot be conveniently passed off to chance or confirmation bias, particularly as they encode a small set of interlocking answers. These ciphers betray a grand design and affirm Elgar’s genius for cryptography. To learn more about the innermost secrets of the Enigma Variations, read my free eBook Elar's Enigmas Exposed. Please help support and expand my original research by becoming a sponsor on Patreon.

Soli Yah Gloria

Elgar's Third Bridge Passage Enigma Ciphers

Most of my ‘sketches’,—that is to say the reduction of the original thoughts to writing, have been made in the open air. I finished the Wye round about Mordiford & completed many pencil memoranda of compositions on the old bridge, of which I have vivid & affectionate memories.

Edward Elgar in a letter to G. H. Jacks

This is the sixth article in a series that surveys a trove of cryptograms embedded within three bridge passages of the symphonic Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. A section in classical music that merges one movement into another is called a bridge passage. These three bridge passages add up to nine measures and comprise less than one percent of the full score. The preliminary four articles catalog assorted cryptograms in the first bridge passage (bars 18-19) that begins at Rehearsal 2 and links to Variation I (C. A. E.). The first essay covers the Opus Dei Cipher. The second discusses the Psalm 46 Ciphers. The third describes the Tau Cross Ciphers. The fourth addresses other interrelated word ciphers embedded within the performance directions of the first bridge passage. The fifth article presents a series of cryptograms in the second bridge passage (bars 185-188) that starts four bars before Rehearsal 19 and links Variation V (R. P. A) to Variation VI (Ysobel).

These cryptograms clustered within the three bridge passages document Elgar’s expertise in cryptography, a subject that merits a chapter in Craig P. Bauer’s treatise Unsolved! A decade of concerted analysis has netted over ninety cryptograms in diverse formats that encode a set of mutually consistent solutions that provide definitive answers to the core questions posed by the Enigma Variations. What is the secret melody to which the Enigma Theme is a counterpoint and serves as the melodic cornerstone of each movement? Answer: Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) by Martin Luther. What is Elgar’s “dark saying” ensconced within the Enigma Theme? Answer: A musical Polybius box cipher situated in measures 1-6. Who is the secret friend and inspiration behind Variation XIII? Answer: Jesus Christ, the Savior of Elgar’s Roman Catholic faith.

The Third Bridge Passage Time Signatures Cipher

This article will describe various cryptograms found in the third bridge passage (bars 305-307) which is the concluding phrase of Variation VIII. Variation VIII is framed in 6/8 time with six eighth note beats per measure. A soulful melodic G from its final tonic chord is sustained by the first violins over the barline into Rehearsal 33 to herald the sublime dawn of the most elegiac of the movements, Variation IX (Nimrod). Variation IX is set in 3/4 time with three quarter beats per bar. A bridge represents a crossing, and remarkably, the criss-cross products of the opposing numerators and denominators from these adjacent time signatures are the same. 6 multiplied by 4 produces the same result (24) as 3 multiplied by 8. 24 is the number of letters in the complete German title Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. The pairing of 4 and 6 produces 46, the chapter number from the Psalms that inspired Martin Luther to compose Ein feste Burg.

The Third Bridge Passage “FAE”Cipher

The orchestration of the final cadence of Variation VIII begins with six voices on beats 1-2, reduces to 5 voices on beats 3-4, and thins to just one voice on beats 5-6 that is held over the barline into Variation IX at Rehearsal 33. The instrumentation, notes, and durations in bar 307 are outlined below:

1. Second B-flat Clarinet: Written C-sharp sounding as B sustained for 2 beats followed by 1 eighth rest, 1 quarter rest, and 1 eighth rest.
2. First Violins: G held for 6 beats that ties over the barline.
3. Second Violins: D sustained for 4 beats followed by 2 eighth rests.
4. Violas: B sustained for 4 beats followed by 2 eighth rests.
5. Cellos: G sustained for 4 beats followed by 2 eighth rests.
6. Basses: G sustained for 4 beats followed by 2 eighth rests.

The number of voices starts in bar 307 at six, declines to five, and then just one. The application of a basic number-to-letter key (1 = a, 2 = b, 3 = c, etc.) converts those voice totals to the plaintext F, E, and A. These three letters are an anagram of FAE, a well-known music cryptogram that represents the initials of the romantic German motto “Frei aber einsam” (Free but lonely). The renowned violinist Joseph Joachim coined this motto around 1851. Those same initials are enciphered as an anagram by the key letters of the Mendelssohn fragments in Variation XIII which are performed in the keys of A-flat major, F minor, and E-flat major. A coded link between Joachim and Mendelssohn is exquisitely appropriate. Joachim was mentored by Mendelssohn who sponsored his May 1844 debut before the Royal Philharmonic Society in a performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major. Although Jewish by birth, Mendelssohn and Joachim were baptized as Lutherans. An overt reference to Mendelssohn mingled with a coded allusion to Joachim efficiently hints at the composer of the covert Theme and the identity of the secret friend.

In a note for The Music Makers, Elgar wrote that the Enigma Theme “. . . expressed when written (in 1898) my sense of the loneliness of the artist.” A solitary melodic G held over the barline deftly captures this doleful sense of isolation. A coded reference to Joachim’s motto that ends with the word “lonely” elegantly intersects with Elgar’s description of the Enigma Theme. The FAE Cipher in the third bridge passage is a cryptographic link to Variation XIII where the Mendelssohn fragments also encipher those same initials. The first and second bridge passages also harbor coded links to Variation XIII.

The “EE” Notes Ciphers

Some cryptograms in the Enigma Variations contain Elgar’s initials, first name, or last name. The performance directions in the first bar of the Enigma Theme are an acrostic anagram of “EE’s Psalm.” The decryption of a Music Polybius Box Cipher in bars 1-6 of the Enigma Theme reveals the use of four different languages: English, Latin, German, and what Elgar would have reasonably believed to be Aramaic. In an astonishing twist, the first letters of those four cipher languages are an acrostic anagram of Elgar.

1. English
2. Latin
3. German
4. Aramaic

The end and double barlines enclosing the first bridge passage in bars 18-19 are an acrostic anagram of Ed. The note letters of the middle voice in bar 16 of the Enigma Theme also spell Ed with an E-flat on beat 2 followed by a D on beat 3. These examples demonstrate that multiple cryptograms within the Enigma Theme encipher the composer’s first name, last name, or initials.

Elgar’s initials appear repeatedly in the orchestration of the second bridge passage, and this trend continues with the third bridge passage. The bar number 306 is intriguing as it is bookended by the numerals of the opus number (36). Sprinkled throughout measures 305 and 306 in the full score are 23 written E notes, and four other written notes that sound in concert pitch as E. In all, there are 27 Es in the third bridge passage. These notes commonly occur in pairs and serve as coded forms of Elgar’s initials EE.

Elgar often signed his letters with his initials, and this pattern persists with many of his ciphers. For instance, Elgar used the glyph of a capital cursive E as a building block to construct the Dorabella Cipher. The mirror image of a capital cursive E is the number 3. That is telling because the third bridge passage consists of three measures and concludes at Rehearsal 33. These two threes associated with the third bridge passage are linked to Elgar’s initials because 33 is the mirror image of two capital cursive Es.

The third bridge passage connects to the opening measure of Variation IX in bar 309 at Rehearsal 33. It is precisely at this point in the score that the tuning of the timpani is indicated as E-flat, F, and B-flat. Those three note letters are an anagram of the initials for the covert Theme, Ein feste Burg. A coded form of Elgar’s initials at Rehearsal 33 hints at the presence of another important set of initials. The FAE Cipher in bar 307 enciphers a three-word German phrase. Likewise, the Nimrod Timpani Tuning Cipher in bar 308 encodes another three-word German Phrase, the title of the secret melody. There is an elegant consistency to the positioning and twin decryptions of these two ciphers in contiguous measures at the end of the third bridge passage. Two different three-word phrases in German are enciphered back-to-back in bars 307-308 at Rehearsal 33. That rehearsal number suggests the presence of two threes, and that is precisely the case with these two three-word German phrases.

The “ED” Notes Ciphers

At the start of bar 305, the first clarinet plays the concert pitches E and D written in the score as F-sharp and E. These two concert pitches spell Ed, a shortened version of Edward. In all, there are nine pairings of the notes E and D in bars 305-306, five as ED and four as DE. The first bassoon plays these note pairs three times in bars 305-306. The second violins play E-D at the end of bar 305. The cellos and basses perform D-E twice in bars 305 and 306, the reverse spelling of Ed. Elgar enciphered this short form of his first name in the first bridge passage using the end and double barlines as an acrostic anagram (End and Double). Ed is also spelled ten times in the second bridge passage. Indeed, a coded spelling of Elgar’s first name is present in all three bridge passages. Elgar features this familiar version of his first name within the title (E. D. U.) of his own movement.

The Transposing Notes “EFB” Cipher

The first bridge passage is the ending phrase of the Enigma Theme. Likewise, the second bridge passage comprises the ending phrase of Variation V. This pattern continues with the third bridge passage which is the concluding phrase of Variation VIII. There are four sounding Es in two different written pitches in the first bar of the third bridge passage. In bar 305, the B-flat clarinets perform two F-sharps an octave apart that sound a whole tone lower as Es. In that same measure, the French horns play octave Bs that sound a fifth lower as Es. These pairs of sounding Es suggest Elgar’s initials and, like many other sections of the score, the presence of a cryptogram. These two transposing instrumental parts in bar 305 have written Bs and F-sharps that sound as Es. The combination of written and sounding pitches conveniently provides the letters E, F, and B. Those three letters are the initials of the covert Theme, Ein feste Burg. The pairs of sounding Es for the transposing instruments in bar 305 convey two sets of initials, one for Elgar (EE) and the second for the hidden melody (EFB).

The Third Bridge Passage 46 Ciphers

There are six crescendo symbols and four decrescendo symbols in the third bridge passage. These are referred to colloquially as hairpins due to their V-shape oriented sideways. Out of nine discrete performance directions in the third bridge passage, these crescendo and decrescendo symbols are the only two not represented directly by words, acronyms, or initials. The distribution of four decrescendos and six crescendos is a coded allusion to the number 46. That number is important because the covert theme's title originates from chapter 46 of the Book of Psalms.

The first violins sustain a note for six beats in bar 307 as the lower four voices of the string choir hold four notes for four beats. The pairing of these two unique numbers is yet another coded form of the number 46. The Psalm 46 Cipher in the Enigma Theme encodes this book title and chapter. The word psalm and the number 46 are encoded in the first bridge passage.

The Third Bridge Passage 36 Ciphers

The third bridge passage includes bar 306, a number that begins and ends with 3 and 6. This is a coded allusion to the opus number of the Variations (36). The distribution of performance directions in bar 307 is six pianissimos (pp) and three attaccas (attaccca:). These two numerals (3 and 6) are another covert reference to the opus number. There is a colon after each attacca which is another coded form of 36 because there are three colons with a total of six dots.

The Third Bridge Passage 24 Cipher

There are four notes held over four beats in bar 307 that are each followed by two eighth rests for a total of six beats. These note and rest durations in the context of six beats per bar are a coded version of 24 and the number six. These numbers are significant because there are precisely 24 letters in the complete six-word title of the covert Theme, Ein feste burg ist unser Gott. Similarly, there are 24 melody notes in the opening six bars of the Enigma Theme that forms Section A in G major. Elgar enciphered all 24 letters of the title from the covert Theme in those first six bars as an elaborate anagram, the “dark saying” first mentioned in the original 1899 program note.

The Third Bridge Passage 11 Written Notes Cipher

There are a total of eleven written notes in bar 307 of the full score. Ten of these notes in the string section are written twice and held together by ties to form longer sounding notes. One note in the second clarinet part is tied to a note in the previous bar. The number eleven is remarkable because there are exactly 11 unique letters in the complete German title of the covert Theme. An awareness of this sum is critical when attempting to crack a cipher.

The “BC” and “AD” Notes Cipher

The second B-flat clarinet slurs a concert pitch C at the end of bar 306 to a concert pitch B in bar 307. These final two notes are a reverse spelling of BC, the initials for “Before Christ.” The double bass section performs the sequential notes A and D concurrently with the concert C played by the B-flat clarinet. The consecutive note letters A-D are the initials for the Latin phrase Anno Domoni which means “Year of our Lord.” The initials BC and AD are encoded by overlapping note sequences performed by the clarinet and bass section in bars 306-307. The names of the instruments that perform these revealing note pairs are clarinet and bass, an acrostic anagram of BC. The acronyms BC and AD both point to Jesus, the covert friend portrayed in Variation XIII.

The “BC” and “G-D” Final Cadence Cipher

The G major chord in the final bar of Variation VIII is constructed from the written notes C-sharp (second B-flat clarinet), G (first violins), D (second violins), B (violas), G (cellos), and G (basses). In all, there are three Gs and one written B, C-sharp, and D. The written C-sharp played by the clarinet sounds in concert pitch as B. The pairing of the written note letters B and C produces, BC, the initials for the phrase “Before Christ.” This is another coded reference to BC that implicates Jesus as the secret friend commemorated in Variation XIII. The remaining three Gs and one D is a distinctly trinitarian spelling of God. According to Roman Catholicism, Jesus is a member of the triune Godhead.

An alternate decryption of the discrete letters B, C, D, and G is “C G-D B.” This phrase may be read phonetically as “See God Be.” In John 14:9, Jesus taught his disciples that those who have seen him have also seen his heavenly Father.

The Colons Cipher

The performance directions in bar 307 include three attaccas followed by a colon (attacca:). This contrasts with the attaccas at the end of Variation XII which lack a colon. There are six dots in these three colons, providing yet another coded reference to the opus number 36. One definition of colon from the Encyclopedia Britannica is “. . . a rhythmic measure of lyric metre (‘lyric’ in the sense of verse that is sung rather than recited or chanted) with a recognizable recurring pattern.” These punctuation marks may consequently be interpreted as a clue regarding the nature of the covert Theme, a hymn that begins with a biblical verse that is sung in a “recognizable recurring pattern.” It is telling that these colons immediately precede the most hymn-like of the movements, Nimrod. This is amply demonstrated by a setting of Lux Aeterna to that elegiac movement.

The “Papa” Proximate Performance Directions Cipher

The performance directions in bar 307 are six pianissimos (pp) and three attaccas. These two sums of performance directions in the final bar of the third bridge passage are a coded form of the opus number 36 and the tempo marking of 63 for the Enigma Theme, I (C. A. E.), and V (R. P. A.). The proximity of pp to attacca in the first violin and bass staves suggests the acrostic pa, a term of endearment for father. When the pa in the first violin staff is paired with that from the bass staff, it produces Papa. This is yet another intimate term for father. Jesus referred to God as his Father using the Aramaic term Abba, our equivalent of “Daddy.” One of the titles for the pope is “Father.” The word papacy refers to the office of the pope and begins with the letters “papa.” In the second bridge passage, four proximate performance directions form an acrostic anagram of “pape,” the French word for pope. There are also coded allusions to the Holy See and Pope Leo XIII in Variation XIII.

The Performance Directions Frequencies Cipher

The third bridge passage has seven different performance directions in the form of words, abbreviations, or initials. These terms are constructed from letters and stand apart from the hairpin crescendo and decrescendo symbols. It was previously observed that those hairpin symbols encode the numbers four and six. The textual performance directions and their frequencies are listed alphabetically in the table below:

The discrete frequencies of those terms are 3, 6, 8, and 10. Those numbers may be converted into their corresponding letters in the alphabet using a number-to-letter key. This results in the plaintext C, F, H, and J. When viewed as an anagram, this permits grouping the letters J and C together to form the initials for Elgar’s secret friend, Jesus Christ. The remaining two letters, H and F, enable a phonetic spelling of the German words Hof and hoff. The word Hof refers to a court, place, or courtyard. For example, Hofoper is German for “Court Opera.” Jesus was tried before Pilate on the Gabbatha, a courtyard with stone pavement in the Antonia Fortress (see John 19:13). The second reading as hoff is the German word for “hope.” In 1 Timothy 1:1, the Apostle Paul calls Jesus Christ “our hope.” Both German phonetic readings of “HF” as Hof and hoff are linked to the biblical account of Jesus.

Concluding Remarks

This overview identified fourteen different cryptograms hidden away within the third bridge passage of the Enigma Variations. These ciphers encode a discrete set of answers that relate incisively with the covert Theme and secret friend of the Variations. The discovery of any of these cryptograms in isolation could be comfortably written off as a coincidence. However, the sheer number of ciphers in these three bridge passages cannot be conveniently attributed to chance or confirmation bias, particularly as they encode a small set of interlocking answers. These coded patterns betray a grand design and Elgar's genius for cryptography. There are recognizable and recurring patterns within these ciphers such as the appearance of Elgar’s initials and short form of his first name. There is a staid reliance on anagrams, acrostics, and phonetic spellings, all idiosyncratic specialties of Elgar. The next installment in this series will describe various cryptograms formed by elements from all three bridge passages. To learn more about the innermost secrets of the Enigma Variations, read my free eBook Elar's Enigmas Exposed. Please help support and expand my original research by becoming a sponsor on Patreon.

Soli Yah Gloria