Four Integrated Enigma Theme Ciphers

It may well be doubted whether human ingenuity can construct an enigma of this kind which human ingenuity, if properly applied, may not also resolve. 

Edgar Allan Poe in The Gold-Bug

 

Introduction 

It is no secret Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was captivated by secret codes, riddles, and wordplay. As the respected biographer Michael Kennedy observes, Elgar “. . . loved puns, acrostics, secret codes and crossword puzzles.”[1] It should come as no surprise the Enigma Variations harbor several ciphers that answer its three core conundrums:

1. What is the secret melodic Principal Theme? 
2. What is the “dark saying” hidden in the Enigma Theme? 
3. Who is the secret friend portrayed in Variation XIII?

The Enigma Theme contains at least fifty ciphers that furnish specific, mutually reinforcing answers to these enduring questions. The covert principal Theme is Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) by Martin Luther. The “dark saying” concealed by the Enigma Theme is a musical Polybius Square cipher (more playfully known as a Music Box Cipher) which encodes a series of phrases that are collectively an anagram of the complete German title Ein feste Burg ist Unser Gott. The secret friend to whom Variation XIII is dedicated is Jesus Christ. In support of this assessment, four integrated ciphers from the Enigma Theme will be described:

1. Locks Cipher 
2. Keys Cipher  
3. Psalm Cipher 
4. Music Box Cipher 

The Locks Cipher 

Ciphers are meant to be decoded, but first, they must be found. In the case of the Enigma Variations, an obvious place to search is at the beginning with the oddly constructed Enigma Theme. Its very title suggests a cipher. These opening six measures are of special interest because of an oddly placed double bar at the end of measure 6. In music a double bar typically signals the end of a section, so the placement of one so close to the beginning is conspicuously anomalous. The most promising starting point to uncover a cipher is the Enigma Theme’s opening six measures. 

The unusual position of the double bar at the terminus of measure 6 hints at a cipher in these opening measures. An analysis of these six measures revealed the total number of notes performed by each of the four active instrumental parts does not exceed the number of letters in the English alphabet. This feature suggests a rather basic Letter Number Cipher in which the total number of notes for each part is converted into the corresponding letter in the alphabet.

The total notes performed by each instrumental part were counted over the first six measures of the Enigma Theme (Figure 1). Instrumental parts that perform notes over these measures are the first and second violins, violas, and cellos – the string quartet. The first violin part has the highest total number at 24 notes. The second violins have the second highest with 17 notes. The violas have the third highest with 15 notes, and the cellos with only 12 notes. This pattern presents an appealing symmetry because the number of notes decreases with each step down in the string choir. The lower the voice, the fewer the notes.

The next step in the decryption required converting these four note totals into corresponding letters from the alphabet (1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, etc.). The results of this elementary Letter Number conversion are displayed in Table 1. The plaintext solution is “LOQX,” a phonetic version of locks. Elgar employed phonetic spellings in his correspondence, so such a peculiar spelling is not unprecedented.

Why locks? Locks come with keys, and so do ciphers. This decryption indicates multiple ciphers are lurking within the Enigma Theme. When the same note totals are applied to the alphabet in reverse order (i.e., 1 = Z, 2 = Y, 3 = X, etc.), the plaintext result is “CJLO.” When treated as an anagram, these letters may be reshuffled as “LOJC.”

Lo is a common biblical term meaning to look, see or behold. It is often associated with behold as in the phrase “lo and behold.” The initials for Elgar's secret friend (Jesus Christ) are “J. C.” These letters are covertly formed by the Roman numerals of his variation (XIII). “XC” represents ten, and J is the tenth letter of the alphabet. “III” stands for three, and C is the third letter. Consequently, “LOJC” may reasonably be interpreted as “Behold Jesus Christ.”

 

The Keys Cipher 

Returning to this idea of keys implicated by the “LOQX” decryption, it is vitally important to recognize the Enigma Theme is performed in two contrasting keys, the minor and major modes of G. The accidentals for these two keys are B-flat and E-flat for G minor, and F-sharp for G major. It is nothing less than extraordinary that this particular set of accidentals furnishes the initials (E. F. B.) for the covert Principal Theme, Ein feste Burg by Martin Luther. Consistent with the forward Letter Number decryption of the Locks Cipher, the key signatures of the Enigma Theme literally furnish the keys to unlocking Elgar’s melodic vault.

The Psalm Cipher 

How can we be certain the initials encoded by the Keys Cipher (E. F. B.) stand for Ein feste Burg? Critical clarifying information is provided by another cipher hidden among the Performance Directions of the Enigma Theme’s opening measure. In that first bar there are seven distinct performance directions: Andante, molto espressivo, Piano, legato e sostenuto. The first letters of these seemingly unremarkable Performance Directions form the ingenious anagram “EE’s PSALM.” The initials “EE” manifestly stand for the composer himself, Edward Elgar. The word Psalm indicates the book of Psalms in the Old Testament Bible which has a total of 150 chapters. This number presents a numerological parallel with the Enigma Variations which is comprised of 15 movements, the Enigma Theme followed by fourteen variations.

Since the word psalm is in the singular case, this cipher singles out only one of those chapters. The question remains, which one? The number of characters in this cryptogram is 46, a sum that implicates Psalm 46, a chapter known as Luther's Psalm because it inspired his most renowned hymn. That same number is suggested by the A and B sections of the Enigma Theme. The Ternary ABA Structure of the Enigma Theme conveniently encodes the precise number. The opening A Section in G minor is 6 measures followed by the contrasting B section in G major which is 4 measures. Pairing these two numbers together creates the natural number 46. It is truly stunning that Martin Luther drew the title and inspiration for his most epic hymn, Ein feste Burg, from Psalm 46. The Performance Directions Anagram Cipher accurately identifies the book from the Old Testament (Psalms), and the number of measures in the A and B sections of the Ternary structure pinpoint the precise chapter (46). The biblical source of the melodic solution is further intimated by Elgar’s use of Old Testament names for Variations VI (Ysobel) and IX (Nimrod).

Decoding Elgar’s “Dark Saying”

Armed with the title of the absent Principal Theme, the next step was to find the lock, insert the key, and unlock the contents of Elgar’s mysterious “dark saying.” But where was that lock? Where was the location of this mysterious music cipher? The first six measures of the Enigma Theme appeared to be the most obvious place to begin the search due to the odd placement of a double bar at the end of measure 6 (Figure 3).

A double bar is commonly used to denote the end of a movement or a section, but neither was evidently the case here. The Enigma Theme is seventeen measures in length, hence the placement of a double bar so close to the beginning is highly conspicuous. It was reasoned Elgar inserted a double bar in measure 6 to demarcate not the close of a section, but the end of a cipher.

There is an array of preternatural coincidences supporting the hypothesis that the first six measures of the Enigma theme are indeed a music cipher. First, the total number of letters in the title Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott is the same as the number of melody notes played over the first six bars: 24. Second, the number of measures is identical to the number of words in the missing melody’s complete title: 6. Third, there is an audible sense of separation achieved by the systematic placement of quarter note rests in the melody line at the beginning of each bar, a device suggestive of spaces between words. Dr. McClelland perceptively observes: 

Elgar’s six-bar phrase is achieved by the characteristic four-note grouping, repeated six times with its reversible rhythm of two quavers and two crotchets. This strongly suggests the cryptological technique of disguising word-lengths in ciphers by arranging letters in regular patterns.[2]

Fourth, the original short score lends compelling circumstantial evidence for a music cipher in the first six bars of the Enigma Theme because the melody and bass notes are in black ink while the intervening notes are in pencil.[3] This presents a highly suggestive parallel with Elgar’s solution to John Holt Schooling’s Nihilist cipher which was painted on a wooden box with black paint. Fifth, at least three of Elgar’s favorite composers included music ciphers in their scores: J.S. Bach, Robert Schumann, and Franz Liszt. In the unfinished Contrapunctus 14 of Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), Bach inserts his name using the notes B-flat, A, C, and B. In the German musical nomenclature, B-flat is represented by B, and B natural by the letter H. In Schumann’s Nordische Lied, he transforms the name of a Danish contemporary, Gade, into a musical motive, and in his Op. 60 fugues, he manipulates the Bach motive using inversion, retrograde, and augmentation.[4] 

In The Dream of Gerontius Op. 38, a work completed shortly after the Enigma Variations, Elgar encodes the names of some of his critics in the Demons’ Chorus with a music cipher. Like Schumann’s work for Gade, Elgar composed an Allegretto for the Gedge sisters using the letters of their name as a musical motive.[5] Finally, the original score has the word Enigma centered directly over the first six bars, marking the precise location of the cipher and its “dark saying.” As other researchers point out, the phrase ‘dark saying’ is one of the definitions for enigma.[6] The first word from the covert Principal Theme’s title (Ein) is found in the first three letters of Enigma with its last letter providing the correct translation (A). All the available evidence points to the first six bars of the Enigma Theme as the most likely location of a music cipher. The presence of the Keys and Performance Anagram ciphers only bolsters this suspicion.

To assess the presence of a music cipher, a frequency analysis was first performed on the letters from the complete title of Ein feste Burg ist Unser Gott (Table 4). The results show there is a total of 24 letters with 11 distinct types.

These results were carefully compared with the first 24 notes in the Enigma Theme based on note letters and durations (Table 5).

Extensive experimentation with strict substitution ciphers in which one plaintext letter is matched with each note type yielded no meaningful results. This was an expected outcome because it was also encountered by other researchers. For Elgar to employ such an elementary cipher would be too easy to unravel, so something more sophisticated should be expected. Were there other more complex cipher methods known to Elgar at the time he composed the Enigma Variations?

Eric Sams theorized Robert Schumann learned about an assortment of music ciphers from a book in his father’s bookstore by Ludwig Klübner called Kryptographik (1809).[7] One method Klübner describes is a sophisticated music cipher wheel that encodes single plaintext letters using two-note combinations.[8] Schumann was one of Elgar’s favorite composers and was known to employ music ciphers in his works. Recognizing the significance of Klübner’s music cipher wheel, an analysis of melodic note pairs in the Enigma melody was performed. However, this proved just as unproductive as the strict substitution method. Further attempts at decryption using a variety of cipher methods yielded no meaningful results over a three month period. 373 days after I first concluded Ein feste Burg was the covert principal Theme, I experience an epiphany: Two-note combinations were possible, but it was necessary to consider the melody and bass notes together for the complete cipher. These are the same notes written in black ink on the original short score – Elgar’s “dark saying.”

The coupling of melody and bass notes was strongly suggested by Elgar’s use of six note letters in the melody (A, B, C, D, F, and G), and six in the bass (A, B, C, D, E, and G). Together the melody and bass lines employ all seven note letters with the only discrepancy between E and F. Later analysis revealed these notes were combined just as i and j or u and v are conflated when enciphering entire alphabetical sequences. Robert Schumann (one of Elgar’s “ideal” composers) used the notes E and F in his music ciphers to symbolize his alter egos, Eusebius and Florestan. [9] With the conflation of the notes E and F, one distinct melody note may be assigned to each column and one discrete bass note to each row. This arrangement produces a six-by-six checkerboard configuration. By pairing a melody note with a bass note, a single cell in the checkerboard grid is designated at their intersection containing a plaintext letter solution.

There is yet another basis for suspecting that Elgar constructed a six-by-six checkerboard cipher because there are precisely six different 6-letter names and titles used in the Enigma Variations:

1. Enigma for the Theme
2. Ysobel for Variation VI 
3. Troyte for Variation VII 
4. Nimrod for Variation IX 
5. Eduard from the initials E. D. U. assigned to Variation XIV which are the first three letters of the German translation of Edward 
6. Finale, the subtitle for Variation XIV

The next step in the decryption process was to map out the bass/melody note pairs in the first six bars of the Enigma Theme and compare them with the letter frequencies of Ein feste Burg (Table 6). For the purpose of identifying note pairings, each bass quarter note was treated as a half note. These bass line extensions from the original quarter notes are justified based on the recapitulation of the opening six bars in measures 11 through 16 where they are played continuously as half notes (Figure 1). Bass notes not sounding continuously but implied by this analysis are shown in parentheses. In hindsight, Elgar’s decision to limit the majority of the bass notes to quarter notes in the opening six bars proved to be a cunning stratagem for obscuring the cipher.

Unmistakable correlations were found between bass/melody note pairings and plaintext letter frequencies (Table 7). Discernable bass-melody note pairings were easily identified for letters with frequencies of 4 (e and t), 3 (s), and in three cases with letters with frequencies of 2 (g, i, n, r, and u). The remaining two bass/melody pairings for letters with frequencies of 2 were not immediately apparent. The first to be paired were B-flat/G and D/B-flat because together they form a G minor triad, the opening chord of the Enigma Theme. Also, they share a common note in reverse positions (B-flat). The final match pair was found to be A/C and E-flat/A because of the shared note in reverse positions (A) as was the case with the previous pairing. A more nuanced explanation is the letters A, C, and E are the initials for the first names of Elgar, his wife, and daughter. Like the previous match pair, these notes form a music triad. The remaining three bass/melody pairs (B/F, E-flat/G, and E-flat/B-flat) were assigned to letters with single frequencies (b, f, and o).

After testing all possible plaintext letter solutions restricted by bass/melody note frequency pairings over the first six bars of the Enigma Theme, an outcome that can only be described as extraordinary is realized (Table 8).

 
Measure 1: GSUS 

In measure 1 the plaintext solution is gsus, a phonetic spelling for Jesus. This special friend according to Elgar’s Roman Catholic faith is the hidden dedicatee for Variation XIII. His initials are ingeniously encoded by the Roman numerals for this movement. “X” represents the number ten, and the tenth letter of the alphabet is J. “III” stands for the number three, and the third letter in the alphabet is C. When the Roman numerals “XIII” are converted into letters using this Letter Number cipher method, the initials “JC” are realized. The efficacy of this cipher is demonstrated by Variation IX (Nimrod) dedicated to Elgar’s German friend, August Jaeger. Applying the same Letter Number encryption method to the Roman Numerals IX produces the initials “AJ”. 

Richard Santa discovered Elgar encoded Pi in the opening measure of the Enigma Theme. Pi is a mathematical constant describing the ratio of any circle’s circumference and its diameter. In his groundbreaking research, Santa observed the first four notes of the Enigma Theme sequentially approximate the number Pi using the scale degrees (i.e., B-flat = 3, G = 1, C = 4, A = 2). The pairing of Pi with Jesus in the first measure of the Enigma Theme intimates the phrase “Pie Jesu” (Pious Jesus), a phrase from the final couplet of the Dies Irae, a hymn in the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass.

Measure 2: GRTS

In measure 2 the plaintext solution is grts, the phonetic spelling of the Latin words gratus, gratis, and gratias. In his youth Elgar attended three Catholic schools where he received extensive instruction in Latin, so he was very familiar with this academic and liturgical language. According to Cassell’s Latin Dictionary, gratus means “pleasing, welcome, agreeable” and “loved.”[10] A Copious and Critical English-Latin Dictionary first published in 1871 and still in use when Elgar composed the Enigma Variations defines gratus as “beloved” and “favorite.”[11] The terms “beloved” and “pleasing” are used in reference to Jesus after his baptism when a voice from heaven said, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”[12]

An alternative realization of the plaintext grts is the Latin word for grace – gratis. As an adverb, it is defined as “without recompense, for nothing, gratis.”[13] As a noun gratis means “thanks” or “thanksgiving,” especially to a deity. The phrase “Jesus Gratias” means “Thanks be to Jesus,” and closely mirrors a phrase from the Latin mass “Deo Gratias” which means “Thanks be to God.” The alternative spelling gratias appears in the Ordinary of the Latin Mass in the seventh sentence of the Gloria as, “Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam” (We give thee thanks for thy great glory).[14] Following the first measure’s reference to Jesus, the appearance of the Latin words for beloved, thanksgiving, and grace are theologically elegant and compelling. In the Christian canon, Jesus is described as beloved and pleasing to God, serving as the supreme example of divine grace. This message is made plain in the book of Ephesians, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”[15]

Measures 3 and 4: INOU BETR 

In measure 3 the plaintext solution is inou, a phonetic rendering of the phrase “I know you.” In measure 4 the plaintext solution is betr, a phonetic version of the word “better.” Combining the plaintext results for measures three and four generates the phrase “I know you better.” The formation of a meaningful phrase based on the plaintext solutions from bars 3 and 4 (“I know you better”) mirrors the pattern of producing a cogent phrase from the plaintext results from measures one and two (“Jesus Gratias” translated as “Thanks be to Jesus”). Following the plaintext results from measures 1 and 2 citing Jesus and some of his attributes, the phrase implies Elgar knows Jesus better. But what possible explanation is there for why Elgar would encode such a declaration?

Almost five months before Elgar began openly working on the Enigma Variations, Secondo Pia took the first official photographs of the Turin Shroud. Taken on May 28, 1898, Pia’s photographic negative vividly revealed for the first time the crucified body and face of a man many fervently believe to be Jesus Christ. It quickly became an international sensation, deluging the pages of both the secular and religious press. Copies of that striking image were soon shared and revered among Roman Catholics around the globe. For the first time, many beheld the face of their Lord and Savior.

For a Roman Catholic like Elgar, the phrase “I know you better” conveys their view of the Holy Shroud’s significance and meaning. Elgar said if the Enigma Theme were presented as a ballet, the Enigma should be represented by a veiled dancer in a banquet hall. Like a shroud, a veil is a cloth used to cover the body. Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus met with his twelve disciples in a banquet hall to celebrate the Last Supper. Excluding Elgar and his wife, there are twelve friends portrayed in the Variations. None of these theological allusions could ever be expected to register in a secular scholar’s worldview. In contrast, Elgar’s weltanschauung at the time he composed the Enigma Variations was decidedly Roman Catholic.

Measure 5: TENI 

The plain text solution for measure five is teni. Popular biblical commentaries during Elgar's lifetime explain that when Jesus asked the Samaritan woman at the well for a drink of water, he began his request with that exact word by saying, “Teni li listosh.” The word teni is indelibly linked to Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well when he plainly revealed his identity to her as the Messiah. In view of the plain text results in measures 1 through 4 referring to Jesus, the theological context of teni is undoubtedly what Elgar intended. His personal library contained as many as 100 religious texts including Bibles, theological works and biblical commentaries, so Elgar was well-versed in theology. In what language is the word teni? Multiple commentaries available during the 1890s claim that Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman in Aramaic. For instance, The Pulpit Commentaries dating from 1897 states:

The Samaritan woman therefore saith to him, How is it (compare this “how” with that of Nicodemus. Jesus had at once provoked inquiry, which he was not unwilling to gratify)—How is it that thou, being a Jew? She would have known that he was a Jew by his speech, for the Samaritans were accustomed to turn the sound of sh into that of s; and so, when Jesus said in Jewish Aramaic, Teni lishekoth, “Give me to drink,” while she would herself have said, Teni lisekoth, his speech would betray him. 

Another example occurs in The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary on St. John dating from 1892 which also claims the word teni is Aramaic:

The woman knew He was a Jew probably by His dress, but it may be also by His accent. It has been pointed out that the words of the question asked by Jesus in Aramaic would be תני לי לשׁחת (Teni li lish'ḥoth), whereas the woman would have said לשׂחת (lis'ḥoth) (vide Jud 12:5-6). 

While these and other commentaries of his era would have reasonably lead Elgar to believe the word Teni is Aramaic, it is actually Hebrew. Charles C. Torrey of Yale University lays out a compelling case that the Gospel of John was originally written in Aramaic, the vernacular of Judea in the first century. Indeed, it is well established that Jesus and his disciples spoke primarily Aramaic. For this explicit reason, the commentaries correctly report that Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman in Aramaic. However, the translation provided was mistakenly in Hebrew, a language very similar to Aramaic. The correct version from the Aramaic Peshitta is, “Hav li maya, eshteh,” which translates as, “Give me water, I will drink.”

Measure 6: FETE

In Measure 6 the plaintext solution is fete, a word defined as a lavish party or religious festival. Elgar used the word fête to describe Sevillana, a work composed between 1884 and 1889. His program note begins, “This sketch is an attempt to portray, in the compass of a few bars, the humours of a Spanish fête.” In light of the coded reference to Jesus in measure 1, the latter definition involving a religious context is warranted. The use of phonetic spellings is a diabolically difficult device that vastly complicates decryption, particularly when done with multiple languages encoded in the same message. Elgar’s personal correspondence is rife with inventive spellings as Eric Sams meticulously mentions with excuse spelled as “xqqq”, and score as “ckor”, “skore”, “skorh”, “skowre”, “skourrghe”, “csquorr”, “skourghowore”, and “ssczowoughohr”.[16] Even if such a cipher were compromised, the outcome would still not easily reveal the title of the missing melody since it is anagrammatized. The enigma is multilayered because the solution letters must still be rearranged to spell out the correct solution: Ein feste Burg ist Unser Gott.

Akin to the four sides of a box cipher key or four instruments in a string quartet, there are four languages employed in Elgar’s Music Box Cipher: English, Latin, German, and what Elgar would have reasonably believed was Aramaic. Similar to the Performance Directions Anagram Cipher in which Elgar encodes his initials (E.E.), the first letters of these cipher languages spell out his last name:

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

Elgar stealthily signed his cipher so it could be independently authenticated as genuine and correct. The phonetically spelled words and phrases from Elgar’s “dark saying” are an elaborate anagram sourced from the title of the unstated Principal Theme, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. Such an incredible outcome could only be the result of a deliberate, premeditated plan, one far beyond my powers of invention. To suggest any other explanation, particularly one devoid of forethought and careful planning by Elgar, would be beyond absurd. 

The Enigma Theme Music Box Cipher key is summarized in Table 10. It consists of a six-by-six checkerboard, an intriguing outcome when one realizes the opus number for the Enigma Variations is 36, the product of six multiplied by itself. Plaintext letters are shown while null cells contain only asterisks. To find a solution letter, locate the intersection of the melody and bass notes as outlined in Table 8. For instance, the combination of the melody note A with the bass note C yields the plaintext letter t. Given the size of the grid, multiple pairings are possible for the same letter, furnishing another effective means to confuse attempts at unraveling the cipher. It should be emphasized Elgar did not provide homophones for the letter e, but did so for letters typically having lower frequencies such as g and s. This practice is also another proven method for sowing confusion and defeating attempts at cracking a cipher. That Elgar closely studied an allegedly unbreakable Nihilist cipher in the 1896 series of The Pall Mall Magazine – two years before he composed the Enigma Variations and one year before he created the Dorabella Cipher.

There was a far more compelling reason to suspect Elgar was inspired to create a musical Polybius square, although I was unaware of it until only after my discovery of his Music Box Cipher. In his personal library are four articles from the 1896 edition of The Pall Mall Magazine titled Secrets in Cipher. These papers are now in possession of the Elgar Birthplace Museum. The third article contains a music cipher from the era of George II showing how 12 quarter notes and 12 eighth notes were used to encipher 24 letters of the English alphabet. In a remarkable parallel, Elgar employs exactly 12 quarter notes and 12 eighth notes in the first six bars of the Enigma Theme. The fourth article presents an allegedly insoluble Nihilist cipher Elgar reports solving in his 1905 biography.[17] The Nihilist cipher is a variant of the Polybius square which in some versions uses a six-by-six grid “. . . to accommodate the 35 letters of the old Russian alphabet.”[18] The suspicion Elgar devised a six-by-six checkerboard cipher was bolstered retroactively by the revelation of these articles from The Pall Mall Magazine. David Kahn reports the ancient Greek Polybius originally invented the checkerboard as a signaling method to relay messages over long distances at night using torches.[19] Elgar’s cryptic reference to a “dark saying” takes on a whole new light in this context. The Polybius square is a very old cipher, one Elgar knew intimately from his personal studies.

Elgar did indeed write down the solution to his Enigma Variations while he was very much alive, accomplishing this feat in the opening six bars of the Enigma Theme utilizing an ingenious Music Box Cipher. With the answer hidden in plain sight, Elgar evokes the words of Jesus who asked his disciples, “Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?”[20] For over a century the solution has been seen and heard countless times, yet ironically those with eyes and ears failed to recognize it. Such is the pinnacle of the art of cryptography, a discipline Elgar found irresistible throughout his life. Now we know the secret he ostensibly took to his grave. The solutions were not buried with Elgar. On the contrary, they were buried in the orchestral score.

Four Integrated Ciphers 

The preceding descriptions and decryptions of four ciphers nestled in the opening measures of the Enigma Theme demonstrate they are integrative with a complimentary and mutually reinforcing set of answers. When decoded forwards using an elementary Letter Number conversion key, the Locks Cipher from the Enigma Theme’s opening six measures indicates that multiple keys are required to unlock the secrets of the Enigma Variations. Applying this insight to the actual keys in which the Enigma Theme is performed, it was determined the letters for the accidentals of the G minor and major modes are “EFB”. This is a remarkable find because those initials are an exact match for the famous Reformation hymn Ein feste Burg.

The Performance Directions Cipher in the Enigma Theme’s first measure encodes the composer’s initials (E.E.) with the word Psalm. This coded message suggests one out of a possible 150 chapters from the Old Testament Book of Psalms. 46 characters in this cryptogram implicate Psalm 46. The number of bars in section A (6) and section B (4) of the Enigma Theme intimates that same number. Pairing four and six in reverse order produces 46. The title for Ein feste Burg comes from the first line of Psalm 46. In the second stanza of that epic hymn, the name of Elgar’s secret friend is announced.

When decoded backward using the Letter Number conversion key, the Locks Cipher provides the initials for Jesus Christ (JC) with the word lo, biblical shorthand for behold. The Locks Cipher reveals how to obtain the initials for the unstated principal Theme from the keys in which the Enigma Theme is played, and it also encodes the initials for the secret friend portrayed in Variation XIII. The lyrics from the hidden principal Theme provide only one name, Jesus Christ, which is an exact match with the Locks Cipher decryption.

These relatively basic Enigma Theme ciphers implicate Ein feste Burg as the covert Principal Theme. This melodic solution accounts for the seemingly anomalous Mendelssohn fragments quoted in Variation XIII since Mendelssohn quotes Ein feste Burg in his first extended symphonic work, the Reformation Symphony. By quoting Mendelssohn, Elgar subtly suggests by inversion (a common contrapuntal technique) that Mendelssohn also quotes the same principal Theme in one of his own works. The number of Mendelssohn fragments – four – cleverly specifies the correct movement from the Reformation Symphony that cites Ein feste Burg – the fourth. The Roman numerals for that movement are in fact a simple Letter Number Cipher that encodes the initials “JC”. “X” represents the number ten, and the tenth letter of the alphabet is J. “III” stands for the number three, and the third letter of the alphabet is C. These are the identical initials encoded by the Locks Cipher, a variant of the Letter Number Cipher in which the number of notes from each active orchestral part serves as the key.

The most complex and compelling cryptogram in the Enigma Theme is the Music Box Cipher. Through an elegant anagram it encodes the entire the 24-letter title of Ein feste Burg ist Unser Gott. Elgar explained in the original 1899 program note the Enigma contains a “dark saying”, and this is born out by the realization that the hidden Theme’s title and its anagrammatized plaintext consists of multiple phrases or sayings. Similar to the Performance Direction Anagram Cipher which encodes Elgar’s initials, the first letters of the four languages used in the Music Box Cipher cleverly encode his last name: English, Latin, German, and Aramaic. As a stealth form of authentication, the composer ingeniously encodes his initials in the Performance Directions Anagram Cipher and his last name in the Music Box Cipher. Like a consummate artist, Elgar meticulously initialed and signed his work. A phonetic version of the secret friend’s first name (gsus) is encoded in the first measure. The name Jesus is cited in the second stanza of Ein feste Burg, and his initials (JC) are encoded by the Locks Cipher. With so many ciphers encoding the same set of answers, we may be exceedingly confident the solutions are accurate and authentic. To learn more about the 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

Footnotes

[1] Kennedy, Michael. The Life of Elgar (Musical Lives). illustrated edition ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 68
[2] McClelland, C. (2007, Winter). Shadows of the evening: new light on Elgar's 'dark saying'. Music Times, Winter, p. 44.
[3] London British Library Add. MS 58003, f.2v.
[4] Daverio, J. (2008). Crossing Paths: Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, p. 101.
[5] McVeagh, D. (2007). Elgar the Music Maker. Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, p. 3.
[6] Turner, Patrick. Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations - a Centenary Celebration. London: Thames Publishing, 1999, p. 46
[7] Sams, Eric. Did Schumann use ciphers? London, The Music Times, Aug., (1965), p. 584-591
[8] Daverio, John. Crossing Paths: Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2008, p. 83.
[9] Dowley, T. (1982). Schumann: His Life and Times. Neptune City, NJ: Paganiniana Publications, Inc., p. 46-47.
[10] Cassell's Latin Dictionary (5th ed.). (2000). New York: Continuum, p. 268
[11] Hall, W., & Smith, T. (1871). A Copious and Critical English-Latin Dictionary. New York: American Book Co., p.
[12] English Standard Version
[13] Cassell's Latin Dictionary (5th ed.). (2000). New York: Continuum, p. 267-268.
[14] Randel, D. M. (1986). The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (Harvard University Press Reference Library). Cambridge: Belknap Press, pp. 471-472
[15] Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
[16] Cited from an unpublished paper by Eric Sams entitled Elgar’s Cipher Table (1970-71).
[17] Buckley, Robert J. Sir Edward Elgar (1905). New York: Kessinger Publishing, Llc, 2009, p. 41.
[18] Kahn, David. The Code Breakers. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1968, p. 620.
[19] Ibid, p. 83.
[20] Mark 8:18 (NIV)

Rushton’s Moratorium Lifted

The man who misses all the fun
Is he who says, “It can’t be done!”
In solemn pride he stands aloof
And greets each venture with reproof.
Had he the power he’d efface
The history of the human race;
We’d have no steam or trolley cars,
No streets lit by electric stars;
No telegraph nor telephone,
We’d linger in the age of stone,
Where, when some keen barbaric brain
Of life’s condition dared complain,
And planned a wheel on which to roll
The load his arms could not control,
Sneers rose from all the mighty crew
That ever scoffs at what is new.
The world would sleep if things were run
By men who say, “It can’t be done!”

Washington Star

One of the world’s leading Elgar scholars is Julian Rushton. A prolific musicologist and Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Leeds, he released Elgar: Enigma Variations on its centenary in 1999. More recently he served for five years as editor of The Elgar Society Journal. Looking back on his tenure as editor he confessed, “I am delighted to have got through five years without printing any more purported enigma ‘solutions’, especially as some that have recently come to my attention tend to the increasingly tortuous, despite Elgar’s claim that the solution, once spotted, would seem obvious.”[1] His perpetual skepticism is not without foundation. In a chapter devoted to various solutions, he persuasively and cogently demonstrates none fully satisfy five conditions given by the composer. [2] Those criteria, broadly paraphrased by Rushton, are:

1. The solution must unveil a dark saying (although the composer said it “must be left unguessed”). 
2. The solution must find “another and larger theme” which goes over the whole set. 
3. The solution involves well-known music, or at least something well known. 
4. It must be clear why Dora Penny “of all people” should guess it. 
5. The “solution” should take into account the characteristic falling sevenths in bars 3 – 4. Elgar himself drew special attention to these with the cryptic observation: “The drop of a seventh in the Theme (bars 3 and 4) should be observed.”

With so many unusual conditions, no solution stands a chance of flourishing under Rushton’s withering glare. There is little surprise he recommends a complete moratorium on all enigma “solutions” until 2034.[3] In that hopeful year, an envelope at the Birthplace Museum is slated to be opened on the centennial of Elgar’s death. Some hope its contents will reveal the long-awaited answer. But what if does not? What if the envelope is empty? Or contains a coded message similar to the Dorabella Cipher? Elgar was after all an inveterate prankster and aficionado of secret codes and ciphers. Without such an envelope containing the answer, is there some other way to identify and authenticate the solution? Like many of his peers, Rushton concludes the real solution indubitably eludes the realm of possibility because Elgar took his secret to the grave. Digging for answers now is as futile as exhuming Elgar’s corpse to conduct a deposition. For those in search of the answers to these enduring enigmas, Rushton’s professional opinion is best captured by the phrase, “It can’t be done.”

Will the answers to the Enigma Variations ever be unmasked? And if so, is there any conceivable way to validate them? The answer to both questions is a categorical yes. Before arriving at these solutions, it is first necessary to substantially revise and clarify Rushton’s crude paraphrases of Elgar’s conditions. Without a crystal clear understanding of those conditions squarely within the context of the composer’s psychological profile, looking into these questions is like peering through a camera lens radically out of focus. Through such a lens even the most intelligent observer is left staring at a baffling, unintelligible blur. Dull conditions are not conducive to formulating sharp questions. Rushton’s appraisal of would-be enigma solutions proves the proverb, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” His rambling roads are vaguely construed conditions, and the many disparate destinations Rushton visits in the form of divergent solutions demand disbelief. Analyzing the Enigma Variations with the wrong set of conditions predictably sets the stage for wrong questions, and these, in turn, lead to wrong answers no matter how right the intentions. When accurately worded and understood, Elgar’s detailed conditions bring the issues into razor-sharp focus. A cogent appreciation of those specific conditions serves as the springboard for developing the right kinds of questions, lighting the way toward the correct solutions. Those answers address the unstated Principal Theme, a “dark saying” linked to the Enigma, and the secret friend of Variation XIII.

Elgar’s Conditions 

Rushton’s criteria are crudely drawn almost exclusively from the original 1899 program note by C. A. Barry that cites an explanatory letter from Elgar. The relevant excerpt from the program note reads:

It is true that I have sketched for their amusement and mine, the idiosyncrasies of fourteen of my friends, not necessarily musicians; but this is a personal matter, and need not have been mentioned publicly. The Variations should stand simply as a ‘piece’ of music. The Enigma I will not explain – its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the connexion 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 later dramas – e.g., Maeterlinck’s ‘L’Intruse’ and ‘Les sept Princesses’ – the chief character is never on the stage.[4]

Elgar’s language is unambiguous, specifying “through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes’ but is not played,” and “the principal Theme never appears.” The context could not be more straightforward as the word Theme is capitalized and definitely refers to a musical theme rather than something symbolic, literary, or otherwise. This is a program note about a symphonic work, not a poetry reading or college lecture on literary symbolism. Instead of calling the opening melody the Theme, Elgar deliberately labels it Enigma to capture the mystery of the missing Principal Theme. Any alleged vagueness on this point is quashed by multiple interviews Elgar granted soon after the 1899 premiere. The following year he met with F. G. Edwards, the editor of The Musical Times, to discuss a biographical sketch featured in the October 1900 issue. Concerning the Enigma Variations Edwards reported:

In connection with these much discussed Variations, Mr. Elgar tells us that the heading ‘Enigma’ is justified by the fact that it is possible to add another phrase, which is quite familiar, above the original theme that he has written. What that theme is no one knows except the composer. Thereby hangs the ‘Enigma.’[5]

In this passage, the words phrase and theme are used interchangeably, again both in the context of a melody that may be added above the original Enigma theme. This observation dovetails precisely with the original program note stating “through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes’, but is not played . . .” Only a musical theme can be played, something incompatible with something symbolic, figurative, mathematical, or literary. The article was closely vetted by Elgar and his wife prior to publication to ensure accuracy, so Elgar must be taken at his word. Further evidence confirming that the Enigma must be a hidden melody is found in Elgar’s 1905 biography prepared by Robert J. Buckley. As the music critic for The Birmingham News, he first met Elgar in 1896 and knew him for almost a decade prior to publication.[6] Buckley confidently declares in the introduction:

Whatever this book states as fact may be accepted as such. The sayings of Elgar are recorded in the actual words addressed directly to the writer, and upon these I rely to give to the book an interest it would not otherwise possess.[7]

This biography was available during Elgar’s lifetime, so it is important to note Elgar never disputed or disavowed any part of Buckley’s book. Dora Powell (née Penny) confirmed the biography was sanctioned by the composer.[8] Buckley could not have presented such intimate details of Elgar’s life, extensive quotations, anecdotes, personal photographs, and copies of his unpublished musical compositions without Elgar’s extensive, personal assistance. Following Buckley’s introduction, Elgar’s cooperation is established by a facsimile of a handwritten, autographed note of appreciation in German and English.[9] On the subject of the Enigma Variations Buckley records Elgar’s description in these words:

The ‘Enigma’ orchestral-piece is Op. 36. What the solution of the ‘Enigma’ may be, nobody but the composer knows. The theme is a counterpoint on some well-known melody which is never heard, the variations are the theme seen through the personalities of friends, with an intermezzo and a coda, the last added at the request of friends aided and abetted by Dr. Richter, who accepted the work on its merits, having received the score in Vienna from his agent in London, and who at the time had not met with the composer.[10]

A counterpoint is by definition a countermelody, so logic dictates the unstated Principal Theme must also be a melody. This is consistent with Elgar’s character as a composer for he composed counterpoints to famous themes like Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” from incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Since the unstated principal Theme must be melodic in nature, this precludes from consideration any symbolic, mathematical, or literary themes – popular refuges for the musical illiterati and musicologists of Rushton’s ilk. Another second equally important implication of Elgar’s contrapuntal condition is the unstated Principal Theme must play “through and over” the entire Enigma Theme, not merely a fraction of it. Like a home anchored on its foundation, the Enigma Theme rests on its foundational theme. This suggests each tune must be the same length to ensure a proper fit. The hidden melody’s length must be equal to its counterpart (i.e., counterpoint). One surprising implication is that such a melodic mapping must include the two measure bridge in measures 18 and 19 since these represent an elaboration of the final cadence as it moves between the major and minor modes. Elgar’s standard reply to enigma “solutions” invokes this fundamental idea of a fit between the two melodies:

No: nothing like it. 
I do not see the tune you suggest fits in the least. 
E.E.[11]

Merriam-Webster defines the verb fit as “to be suitable for or to harmonize with,” and “to conform correctly to the shape or size of.” Elgar’s language leaves little room to doubt that both themes must be counterpoints to one another, and consequently the same length.

This in-depth analysis demonstrates that three primary sources – the 1899 program note, the 1900 interview in The Musical Times, and the 1905 biography – specify four distinct conditions concerning the relationship between the Enigma Theme and the covert principal Theme:

1. The Enigma theme is a counterpoint to the principal Theme. 
2. The principal Theme is not heard. 
3. The principal Theme is a melody that can be played “through and over” the whole set of Variations including the entire Enigma Theme (bars 1 - 19). 
4. The principal Theme is famous.

All claims contrary to these precisely defined criteria must be made in direct conflict with the recorded words of the composer by multiple, independent, unimpeachable sources. Besides these clearly defined conditions, there is Elgar’s psychological profile to consider. It is well established he wrote counterpoints to famous melodies. At age twelve he composed a counterpoint to Handel’s Messiah, inserting it secretly into the orchestral parts for the 1869 Three Choirs Festival. He recalls his foray into melodic mischief in these words:

I composed a little tune of which I was very proud. I thought the public should hear it, but my opportunities of publishing it were decidedly few. I took my opportunity when my father was engaged in preparing the Handel parts for the forthcoming festival. Very laboriously I introduced my little tune into the music. The thing was an astonishing success, and I heard that some people had never enjoyed Handel so much before! When my father learned of it, however, he was furious![12]

In 1901 at age 42 he composed the Cockaigne Overture Op. 40. Elgar’s sketchbooks show he conceived of the lover’s theme as a counterpoint to the “Wedding March” from Mendelssohn’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Figure 1.1).

He invoked this counterpoint because Mendelssohn’s music is indelibly linked to marriage, and there was some concern the lovemaking portrayed was not “strictly proper.”[13] In this example, Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” serves as an unstated (or covert) theme. Over four measures Elgar employs seven dissonant intervals between his counterpoint and the “Wedding March.” Dissonance is defined as any interval other than a unison, octave, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, major or minor third, and major or minor sixth. Elgar’s contrapuntal sketch obliterates the myth he would assiduously avoid all dissonant intervals between the Enigma Theme and the covert principal Theme. Another important observation is that he simplified the source melody to better suit his counterpoint. These simplifications are enclosed in brackets (Figure 1.1). It should also be observed Mendelssohn was a devout Lutheran, dispelling the myth Elgar’s Roman Catholicism precluded him from considering any Protestant themes. On the contrary, he quotes Mendelssohn’s concert overture Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage in Variation XIII.

Another enlightening example of Elgar’s use of dissonance involving a counterpoint is found in the October 1, 1900 edition of The Musical Times. Under the heading “MUSICAL HUMOUR”, F. G. Edwards mentions how Elgar ingeniously weaves the melody of God save the Queen into the second movement from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony Pathétique (Figure 1.2). In this unusual counterpoint, Elgar melodically merges two famous melodies, posing a clever metrical feat because of the conflicting meters between God save the Queen (3/4) and the Pathétique (5/4). More remarkable still are the surprising number of dissonant intervals in Elgar’s contrapuntal mapping. Over three measures there are no less than four dissonant intervals produced by Elgar’s inventive counterpoint. Yet another example of Elgar abandoning the traditional rules of counterpoint occurs in measures 6 and 16 of the Enigma Theme where he uses parallel fifths between the treble and bass lines.

 Condition One: A Dark Saying

How well do Rushton’s conditions measure up to Elgar’s? The phrase “through a glass, darkly” best describes the poor likeness between them. Like his many peers and predecessors, Julian Rushton repeatedly violates the letter and spirit of Elgar’s conditions. A systematic comparison of Rushton’s vaguely worded conditions with those carefully assembled from Elgar’s public comments produces a number of arresting dissimilarities. Rushton’s first condition is, “The solution must unveil a dark saying (although the composer said it ‘must be left unguessed’).” This condition is so vaguely worded it lays the track for a proverbial freight train of contradictory possibilities. Perhaps this was Rushton’s intent from the beginning, sowing confusion and thereby shoring up his position of doubt. What Elgar actually wrote is, “The Enigma I will not explain – its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed . . .” In this context, the Enigma refers to the odd-sounding theme, and within it resides a “dark saying.” Even Rushton is forced to admit “…a ‘dark saying’ cannot simply be a tune.”[14] What could Elgar possibly mean by using the cryptic phrase dark saying? The saying “Go for the obvious” yields results when applied to this oddly worded provision. A formative element of Elgar’s psychological profile was his intense fascination with ciphers, secret codes, and wordplay. Kevin Jones deftly captures this aspect of Elgar’s character:

Edward Elgar was a compulsive fan of crosswords, codes and conundrums. His manuscripts and papers are littered with word puzzles, ciphers, puns and anagrams. Early biographers specifically highlighted his interest in cryptography. He collected a series of articles published in the Pall Mall Magazine in 1896, which describe in some detail a large number of historic ciphering systems. The series contained various cipher challenges for readers to attempt, concluding with a complex, multi-stage puzzle described as uncrackable. Undaunted, Elgar solved it. As he unraveled various stages through to the keyword COURAGE, he used the margins of his Cockaigne Overture manuscript to record his progress. Elgar seemed sufficiently impressed at this feat to make a neat copy of the solution steps on to a set of nine carefully crafted cards, now at the Elgar Birthplace museum, leading to the final solution ‘He who fears is half dead’.

Elgar’s first condition is itself a cryptogram that it contains its own solution. Cryptograms cannot be guessed, but rather decoded. Interpreted in this context, the phrase “dark saying” is simply code for a secret (dark) message (saying). In other words, Elgar’s “dark saying” is a music cipher encoded within the Enigma Theme. It is astonishing Rushton glosses over this possibility, dismissing the likelihood of ciphers as remote. He does so not because of Elgar’s character (which demands just the opposite), but rather because he artificially restricts the composer’s opportunity to construct a cipher to a scant three days beginning on October 21, 1898 – Enigma day. Elgar composed the Variations over a four month period (October 21, 1898, to February 19, 1899), yet Rushton bizarrely contends he only had three days to devise any ciphers. Such a conclusion is wildly inconsistent with the window of opportunity available to Elgar for just such an undertaking. If Elgar had four months to complete the Variations, then by extension he had at least the same amount of time to create any music ciphers. Since Rushton casually dismisses the possibility of ciphers, he makes little effort to discover any. Fortunately, Rushton is not a recognized expert in cryptography or music ciphers; otherwise, his opinion might actually matter. Therefore, his dismissal of the possibility of ciphers may itself be comfortably and casually dismissed as uninformed and unfounded, especially since the Enigma Theme is teaming with them.

Exhaustive research demonstrates just the opposite of what Rushton expects, for there are at least two music ciphers in the Enigma Theme. The simpler of the two is the Enigma “Locks” Cipher (Figure 1.3). This rather elementary cipher converts the total number of notes in each instrumental part over the first six measures of the Enigma Theme into their corresponding letters in the alphabet counting both forwards (1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, etc.) and backward (1 = Z, 2 = Y, 3 = X, etc.). Elgar was obviously counting on no one finding this alphanumeric puzzle. Note sums were confined to the first six measures because of an oddly placed double bar at the end of measure six. Only the string quartet plays in these first six measures (Violin I, Violin II, Viola, and Cello). The total notes for each part are 24, 17, 15, and 12 respectively. In alphabetical order the numbers 12, 15, 17, and 24 spell “LOQX,” a phonetic version of locks. Just as locks come with keys, so do pianos, and more importantly, ciphers. One obvious implication of this discovery is the Enigma Variations contain numerous locks, and by extension multiple ciphers. Speaking of keys, the Enigma Theme is performed in the minor and major modes of G. The accidentals for G minor (B-flat and E-flat) and G major (F-sharp) present the initials for Ein feste Burg. That is far from being a mere coincidence.

Counting backward in the alphabet, the resulting letters are an anagram of “LOJC.” Lo is a common Biblical term meaning to look, see, or behold. “JC” are the initials for the secret friend and inspiration behind Variation XIII, Jesus Christ. His initials are openly concealed by the Roman numerals assigned to his movement. “X” stands for ten, and the tenth letter of the alphabet is J. “III” represents three, and the third letter is C. “LOJC” may reasonably be understood as Behold Jesus Christ. Combining the plain text results from both forward and backward conversions produces the anagram “LOOX LQ JC.” This is a phonetic version of “Looks like JC.” Based on the famous initials, the phrase means “Looks like Jesus Christ.”

Two of the sayings unveiled by the Enigma Locks Cipher (“Behold Jesus Christ” and “Looks like Jesus Christ”) are remarkable because another cipher in Variation XIII names the sacred relic Elgar secretly hints at – the Turin Shroud. For one, the timeline is plausible. Almost five months before Elgar began to openly work on the Variations, Secondo Pia snapped a famous photographic negative of the Turin Shroud. That astonishing image taken on May 28, 1898, revealed in vivid detail the crucified body and face of the man many fervently believe to be Jesus Christ. The story quickly became an international sensation, deluging the pages of both the secular and religious press. Copies of that moving image were soon shared and revered among Roman Catholics around the globe. For the first time, many behold the face of their Lord and Savior. For a Roman Catholic like Elgar, the phrases “Behold Jesus Christ” and “Looks like Jesus Christ” convey their view of the holy shroud. Elgar said if the Enigma Theme were presented as a ballet, the Enigma should be represented by a veiled dancer in a banquet hall. Like a shroud, a veil is a cloth used to cover the body. Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus met with his twelve disciples in a banquet hall to celebrate the Last Supper. Excluding Elgar and his wife, there are twelve friends portrayed in the Variations. None of these theological allusions could ever be expected to register in Rushton’s distinctly secular worldview. In contrast, Elgar’s weltanschauung during the time he composed the Variations was decidedly Roman Catholic.

The second and more complex cryptogram concealed within the Enigma Theme is an ingenious musical Polybius Box Cipher (Table 1.1). Elgar’s exquisite sense of wordplay is on full display in the more concise description of his cryptogram – a music box cipher. What a clever play on words! This musical enigma code relies on melody and bass note pairs to pinpoint plain text solution letters within a checkerboard grid (Table 1.2), hence the description as a box.

In a remarkable parallel, Elgar painstakingly decoded an allegedly unbreakable Nihilist cipher in the 1896 Pall Mall Magazine that is a variant of a box cipher. This furnishes direct evidence linking Elgar to the study of box ciphers at least two years before he began work on the Enigma Variations. His copy of the 1896 Pall Mall Magazine is still in the possession of the Elgar Birthplace Museum along with his solution painted appropriately enough on the side of a box.

Considering large portions of his personal library were lost or simply given away, it appears he deliberately retained that issue and the box to serve as clues. He even goes so far as to mention the same cipher solution in his first official biography.[15] The plain text solution is comprised of short words and phrases – sayings – in English, Latin and Aramaic (Table 1.3). The plain text solution for measure 1 is gsus, phonetic for Jesus. This result and those produced by the Enigma Locks Cipher are mutually reinforcing, serving to validate both cipher decryptions. The plain text solution letters produced by the music box cipher are an anagram of the complete German title of the covert Principal Theme: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. Remarkably, the first letters of all the languages found in this cipher (English, Latin, German, and Aramaic) spell “ELGAr.” This means the composer surreptitiously signed his own cipher, ostensibly to aid in its authentication. Rushton could hardly be expected to detect (let alone decrypt) such a sophisticated music cipher, for it is manifestly beyond his expertise. Being convinced there were no ciphers at the outset, he abandoned the search before it ever began. Rushton's cynicism mimics the illogic of an atheist.

 

Condition Two: A Larger Theme

Rushton’s second condition is, “The solution must find ‘another and larger theme’ which goes over the whole set.” Like his first, it is coarsely worded. A more comprehensive analysis made clear it should read, “The Principal Theme is a melody that can be played ‘through and over’ the whole set of Variations including the entire Enigma Theme.” Rushton has never made any attempt to map any purported melodic solutions over the Enigma Theme or the ensuing movements. Why? Because he remains convinced the answer is unknowable, unverifiable, and unworthy of rigorous inquiry. This mirrors his casual attitude towards possible ciphers, and again exhibits a systematic failure to factor into his analysis Elgar’s psychological profile.

Rushton’s excuse is to invoke the opinions of others by explaining, “It has often been remarked that no musical theme can ever literally ‘go over the whole set’.”[16] Yet the conventional wisdom can be wrong. After briefly touching on various melodic solutions, he concludes:

Many examples hang by the merest thread, the source coinciding with the theme, in some cases, by as few as three notes; given the limitations of the seven-note scale, these seem insufficient to bear intertextual weight. But, more importantly, Elgar never implied that the mystery concerned the actual notes of the theme; these solutions are solving a different kind of problem and (except when part of a multifaceted solution) they fail the test of relevance.[17]

Rushton’s assessment is largely correct with one glaring exception, his claim “. . . Elgar never implied that the mystery concerned the actual notes of the theme . . .” That assertion is brazenly false, blatantly contradicting the recorded words of the composer. There is one famous theme Rushton does not consider that successfully meets all of the requirements of the second condition: Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) by Martin Luther. The case for Luther's greatest hymn is far too extensive to be explored in depth here. For the sake of brevity, permit Table 1.4 to summarize how Luther’s most famous hymn meets Elgar’s seemingly implausible requirement of playing through and over the Enigma Theme and all of the movements. For over a century, no other theme has been shown to accomplish this seemingly implausible feat. This exhaustive melodic mapping was achieved because one investigator was bold enough to take Elgar at his word.

Audiovisual files showing how Ein feste Burg plays “through and over” each of the movements from the Enigma Variations are available on my YouTube Channel:

1. Enigma and Theme 
2. C. A. E. 
3. H. D. S-P. 
4. R. B. T. 
5. W. M. B. 
6. R. P. A. 
7. Ysobel 
8. Troyte 
9. W. N. 
10. Nimrod 
11. Dorabella 
12. G. R. S. 
13. B. G. N. 
14. Romanza 
15. E. D. U.

Comprehensive explanations of how Ein feste Burg was carefully mapped over each of the movements are available at the following hyperlinks below:

1. Enigma Theme 
2. Variation I (C. A. E.) 
3. Variation II (H. D. S-P.) 
4. Variation III (R. B. T.) 
5. Variation IV (W. M. B.) 
6. Variation V (R. P. A.) 
7. Variation VI (Ysobel) 
8. Variation VII (Troyte) 
9. Variation VIII (W. N.) 
10. Variation IX (Nimrod) 
11. Variation X (Dorabella) 
12. Variation XI (G. R. S.) 
13. Variation XII (B. G. N.) 
14. Variation XIII (✡ ✡ ✡)
15. Variation XIV E.D.U.

Condition Three: A Famous Theme

Rushton’s third condition states, “The solution involves well-known music, or at least something well known.” This is his least ambiguous, yet it veers precipitously off course by permitting non-melodic themes. Earlier analysis confirmed the principal Theme must be a melody. This is so because the Enigma Theme is a counterpoint to it, and a counterpoint is by definition a counter melody. This conclusion is bolstered by the fact only a tune can play ‘through and over’ the set. Rushton’s third condition should simply read, “The solution is a famous melody.” In a rather cursory examination of some famous melodies, Rushton never shows how any could literally play “through and over” the set of Variations. He also does not show how any could play one complete cycle over the full seventeen measures of the Enigma Theme, achieving an unmistakable fit. Without a viable candidate, Rushton is left with no alternative but to seek answers elsewhere. This prompts him to wander into a wilderness of imaginative, non-musical themes. Here, like elsewhere, he comes up empty-handed.

One famous theme Rushton does not consider is Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. Commonly known as A Mighty Fortress, it is Luther’s most famous and performed hymn. Based on Psalms 46, Ein feste Burg was composed around 1527 and sung to great acclaim at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 where Luther defiantly uttered his famous words, “Here I stand. I can do no other.” It has been translated into English at least seventy times, and over the past five centuries has been performed around the world in many other languages. It is generally acknowledged Elgar was an avid disciple of the German School. His chief musical role models were Bach, Schumann, and Wagner. If there ever were a melodic cornerstone to the German School, it would have to be Ein feste Burg since it is quoted in the music of J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Schumann, Nicolai, Raff, Wagner, Liszt, and Reinecke. No other melody is quoted by the great German masters so frequently or famously. As late as March 1853, Robert Schumann (Elgar’s “ideal”) was actively planning to compose a sacred oratorio about Martin Luther featuring Ein feste Burg in the final climactic chorus.[18] If Ein feste Burg was epic enough to attract the attention of some of the greatest composers of the German school, particularly those Elgar venerated and emulated in his own works, then the magnetic allure of this powerful hymn could not have escaped Elgar’s notice.

Elgar’s Code of Silence

For Elgar to openly acknowledge Ein feste Burg as the source melody to one of his greatest symphonic works would certainly cast doubt on his devout Roman Catholicism. This necessitated the veil of secrecy achieved by substituting an ingenious counter melody in place of the original Principal theme. It would be inconceivable for Elgar to openly quote the battle hymn of the Reformation, a work composed by a heretic excommunicated by the Pope. His staunch refusals to reveal the hidden theme begin to make complete sense when considered in this context. As a form of penance for his indulgence with such a Protestant theme, he promptly composed The Dream of Gerontius shortly after completing the Enigma Variations.

Another second, more compelling reason why Elgar staunchly refused to disclose the identity of the missing principal Theme, particularly after 1914, was its overwhelmingly Teutonic character. Following the deaths and maiming of millions of British soldiers during World War I (1914-1917), anything remotely German was roundly reviled by the people of England. After World War I, there was no possible way for Elgar to divulge the secret principal Theme of the Enigma Variations without risking his elevated status in English society and the arts. During the war August Jaeger’s widow changed her last name to Hunter to avoid suspicion, Hans Richter and Max Bruch renounced their honorary doctorates from Cambridge, and Gustav von Holst dropped the “von” from his name.[19] It would have been social if not artistic suicide for Elgar to acknowledge such a German melody as the inspiration for one of the great English symphonic works. Ein feste Burg was not only the Marseillaise of the Reformation but also a very popular war song among German soldiers. When war between Germany and France erupted in 1870, Ein feste Burg was played in Berlin during a grand concert to commemorate the march on Paris. After taking Paris and concluding a punitive peace, Wager commemorated their victory with his famous Kaisermarsch that liberally quotes Ein feste Burg. In English society, the robust association between Ein feste Burg and the German military was widely recognized.

Condition Four: Why Dora Penny?

Rushton’s fifth condition is, “It must be clear why Dora Penny ‘of all people’ should guess it.” This condition is predicated on an exchange between Dora and Elgar when she pestered and begged him to divulge the answer. When cornered, Elgar replied, “Oh, I shan’t tell you that, you must find it out for yourself.” She persisted, “But I’ve thought and racked my brains over and over again.” He answered, “Well, I’m surprised. I thought that you of all people would guess it.”[20] Notice Elgar’s use of would instead of should. Rushton slyly substitutes should for would, giving the condition an entirely different slant. Elgar was clear the solution was not subject to speculation in the original 1899 program note, affirming it must remain unguessed. Even if Dora were to guess the correct solution, Elgar would neither deny nor confirm it. His advice to her was, “. . . you must find it out for yourself.”

Why would Elgar suggest Dora would be able to guess the answer? Variation X is dedicated to Dora Penny (1874 – 1964), the daughter of Reverend Alfred Penny of Wolverhampton. Following the death of his first wife, Reverend Penny wed the sister of William Meath Baker, the variant portrayed in Variation IV. Elgar gave Dora the nickname Dorabella from Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte. She was a frequent travel companion when he went on country outings such as kite flying or bicycle riding. Dora enjoyed dancing to his music, and this variation captures her graceful, delicate spirit. In a teasing way, it makes light of her stutter in the opening woodwind phrase that may be sung to her nickname (‘Dor-a-bel-la’). The movement is given the subtitle Intermezzo, and it is one of the longest of the variations.

Concerning Variation X, Elgar wrote the “inner sustained phrases at first on the viola and later on the flute should be noted.” His brief remarks draw attention to the inner melody line but gives no particular reason. Following the discovery of the unstated principal Theme, his comments make perfect sense because a sizable portion of the closing bars of Ein feste Burg is quoted in an augmented form by the inner counter melody. The first instance occurs in measures 382 through 386, and the second in measures 404 through 408. In both cases, the final cadence of Ein feste Burg is immediately followed in mid-measure by a double barline (see Rehearsals 42 and 45). No wonder Elgar told Dora that she “of all people” would be the one to guess the correct melodic solution. Among the variations, Dorabella most directly quotes a considerable part of the covert Theme in an inner melody line, albeit in an augmented form from the end rather than the beginning of the tune.

As the daughter of an Anglican Rector and missionary, Dora was exceedingly familiar with the standard Anglican hymnal. Consequently, her life experience enjoyed a very close connection to the hidden theme. On page 324 of A Dictionary of Hymnology published in 1892, it states Ein feste Burg “. . . has now become well-known in England, and in its proper form is included in the C. B. for England, 1863.” “C. B.” is an abbreviation for Chorale Book. Among Elgar’s friends when he composed the Enigma Variations, she was the most active musically. In her own words she explains, “I was so mixed up with tunes in those days; Choral music; Church music, and orchestral music — and then my own solo singing, scenes from opera, songs, ballads, and so on.”

Choral, church, and orchestral music – what popular tune could be featured so prominently in all three genres? Ein feste Burg. Not only was it a standard in Anglican hymnals, but it was also extremely popular during the Bach resurgence in England beginning in the 1870s as the cornerstone of Bach’s most famous cantata. In opera Ein feste Burg is well known because it is featured in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, the most successful grand opera of the 19th century. In orchestral music, it is quoted by no less than J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Schumann, Nicolai, Raff, Wagner, Liszt, and Reinecke. No other melody is featured so prominently, frequently or famously by the great German masters. As late as March 1853, Robert Schumann (Elgar’s “ideal”) was planning to compose a sacred oratorio about Martin Luther featuring Ein feste Burg in the final climactic chorus. If Ein feste Burg was profound enough to attract the attention of some of the greatest composers of the German school, particularly those Elgar venerated and emulated, then the magnetic allure of that moving hymn could not have escaped his respect and admiration.

In the Royal life of England, Ein feste Burg was given a prominent place of honor as shown by the coronations of 1902 and 1911, global events in the Edwardian era attended by leaders and representatives from around the world when the sun did not set on the British Empire. At the 1902 coronation of King Edward VII, Ein feste Burg was performed multiple times, first as a hymn during the processional, and later in Wagner’s Kaisermarsch. This same hymn was performed at the 1911 coronation of King George V and Queen Mary, again as part of the processional music and also in the homage anthem composed by Sir Frederick Bridge “making liberal use of Ein’ feste Burg.” Elgar certainly heard if not performed Ein feste Burg on numerous occasions in the years preceding the genesis of his Enigma Variations because of the Bach resurgence that swept England and the rest of the Western world. Bach’s works were routinely performed at the Three Choirs Festival beginning in the early 1870s. In 1871 Bach’s St. Matthew's Passion was first performed there, and Bach’s and Mendelssohn’s music was commonplace in England throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Elgar first played violin in the Festival orchestra in 1878. The Monthly Musical Record confirmed Bach’s Cantata A Stronghold Sure (Ein feste Burg) was performed at the Three Choirs Festival on September 10, 1890. It was also performed at the 1905 commencement at Yale University when Elgar received an honorary Doctor of Music.

Prominent Elgar scholars have made little headway in drawing any substantive connection between Dorabella and the Enigma Theme. Some even go so far as to insist Dorabella is not a variation at all. Julian Rushton flatly declares, “’Dorabella’ is no variation . . .”[21] Such a claim begs the question of why Elgar used the word variation in connection with that movement. The only obvious explanation is Dorabella is precisely what Elgar called it – a variation. When scholars sharpen their sensibilities to the slightest subtly, they risk dulling their minds to the agonizingly obvious. Elgar scholarship, like all other disciplines, suffers from more than one example of this disorder. Indeed, Rushton’s blunder is far from being the lone exception. To his credit, his claim is accurate regarding 33 of the 74 measures, or 45% of the work. Nonetheless, such a percentage is hardly a passing grade.

Condition Five: Why Falling Sevenths?

Rushton’s final condition is as follows:

The ‘solution’ should take into account the characteristic falling sevenths in bars 3 – 4. Elgar himself drew especial attention to these with the cryptic observation: “The drop of a seventh in the Theme (bars 3 and 4) should be observed.”

What could Elgar possibly mean by asking that the falling sevenths in the Enigma Theme “should be observed”? A passing familiarity with scripture yields the explanation. Elgar attended various Roman Catholic schools in his youth, and studied theology extensively, particularly in preparing his sacred oratorios. Exodus 31:16 reads, “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.” The Sabbath is the seventh day and should be observed. It does not take a genius to make the connection between the seventh and the Sabbath. Both words are seven letters long, begin with s and end with th. This is a superb example of Elgar’s wordplay. Seven is the divine number, and the sum of the measure numbers (3 + 4) equals that sum. Both the Locks Cipher and the Music Box Cipher encode within the Enigma Theme the name of Jesus Christ. One of his better-known titles is Lord of the Sabbath. In a revealing parallel, the Locks Cipher encodes the phrase “Behold Jesus Christ.” It could just as easily be rephrased as “Observe Jesus Christ.” The musical interval of a seventh in bars 3 and 4 serve as a numerological allusion to the Sabbath and its Lord, the secret friend of Variation XIII. Elgar originally designated that movement with a solitary capital “L”. As the seven of hearts playing card makes clear, a capital “L” resembles a seven (7) fallen over on its head. A third cryptogram in the Enigma Theme known as the “I AM” Cipher seals the case for Jesus as Lord of the Seventh.

Tying Up Loose Ends

Ein feste Burg does conveniently tie up a number of loose ends in the Variations. Consider the unusual title for Variation IX, Nimrod. Why would Elgar give his German friend August Jaeger that unusual Old Testament name? In Genesis 10:9 Nimrod is described as “a mighty hunter,” and the literal German translation of Jaeger means hunter. The “hunter” connection is abundantly clear, but that still leaves behind the first two words – A Mighty. Amazingly, these are exact sequential matches with the first two words in the covert theme’s title, A Mighty Fortress. The third word in that title is accounted for by the fact Nimrod is known as a builder of famous fortified cities – fortresses. His reputation as a builder is so well established that a famous medieval castle on the northern slope of the Golan Heights is called Nimrod Fortress. Recognizing the connotations attached to the name Nimrod makes it relatively easy to compile the title A Mighty Fortress. That Jaeger’s name is German further implies translating the result into that language, yielding Ein feste Burg. No wonder Elgar thought the hidden theme would quickly be discovered following the premiere of the Enigma Variations in 1899.

There is another explanation for why Elgar suspected the hidden theme would soon be exposed. He was profoundly grateful to the great German conductor Hans Richter for conducting the premiere of the Enigma Variations in June 1899. As a token of his gratitude, he presented Richter with a copy of Longfellow’s novel Hyperion: A Romance. In a letter accompanying the book, Elgar wrote, “I send you the little book about which we conversed & from which I, as a child, received my first idea of the great German nations.” Little did Richter know the unstated principal Theme of the Enigma Variations and its composer are mentioned within its final chapter. No wonder Elgar thought the answer would soon be discovered, for he literally gave it away to an eminent musician who should have recognized it if he ever bothered to read the book. As a renowned conductor in great demand with a limited command of English, there is no indication he ever did. Elgar proved that sometimes the best way to hide something is in plain sight.

Why Elgar would write the wrong date on the original score (Feb. 18, 1898) has never been satisfactorily explained. Both the day and year are wrong because the Variations were completed one day and one year later on February 19, 1899, a period of 366 days. Elgar was exceedingly fastidious with his scores. For example, on April 5, 1899, he wrote Jaeger concerning the Variations, “If you have preserved my list of corrections (& I’ll scalp you if you haven’t) I will make ’em myself in two minutes - only I should like to see an example of your Scoring.”[22] The suspicion he absentmindedly penned the wrong date by mistake is emphatically inadequate. If not an innocent mistake, then why the obvious error? On closer inspection, the wrong date is actually right, for it is a cryptogram. How? Consider the month. Elgar wrote the month as “FEb”, not February. In a stunning coincidence, the letters FEB are an anagram for “EFB,” the initials for Ein feste Burg. Elgar encodes those same letters in the Mendelssohn fragments of Variation XIII using an alphanumeric cipher, covertly spelling out the initials shown only by three asterisks. More revealing still is the realization February 18 marks the anniversary of Martin Luther’s death in 1546, and his most famous composition is Ein feste Burg.

What was Elgar thinking about on October 21, 1898, the same day he first performed the Enigma Theme for his wife and friends? A passage from a letter he wrote that very day suggests the answer:

‘Gordon’ simmereth mighty pleasantly in my (brain) pan & will no doubt boil over one day.[23]

For Elgar to write about a prospective symphony using the word mighty on the very same day he began officially composing the Enigma Variations is a remarkably revealing slip of the pen.

Rushton’s Moratorium Lifted

This investigation has shown Rushton’s attempts to uncover the solution to the Enigma Variations were stifled by imprecisely worded conditions too vague and unrefined to yield any fruitful lines of inquiry. Without a clearly defined set of conditions, he was powerless to mount a sensible investigation. The only conclusion left for him to make is that none of the solutions could ever fully satisfy all his conditions. He writes, “I suggest that the ‘right’ solution, if it exists, while fulfilling the criteria, must be multivalent, must deal with musical as well as cryptographic issues, must produce workable counterpoint within Elgar’s stylistic range, and must at the same time seem obvious (and not to its begetter).”[24] The irony is that relying on Rushton’s conditions guarantees the solution could never be found. Nothing captures his inbred skepticism more than his demand in November 2010 for a moratorium on enigma 'solutions' until 2034. Fortunately, his conditions do not accurately reflect those publicly given by Elgar. And in this debate, only Elgar’s criteria matter.

When properly understood through the lens of the composer’s character, Elgar’s conditions point the way towards a workable, multivalent solution. The only theme to fully satisfy all of Elgar’s conditions is Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) by Martin Luther. Rather symbolically this discovery was made on the centennial of Felix Mendelssohn’s birth (February 3, 2009). This makes the timing of Rushton’s moratorium seem rather amusing since the correct solution was found more than a year prior. That is like bolting the barn door only after the horse has galloped away. Luther’s most famous hymn successfully plays one complete cycle through and over the entire Enigma Theme without resorting to altered note values and rhythms to contrive a fit. In addition, a more flexible mapping of Ein feste Burg over the Enigma Theme and two measure bridge produces a compelling counterpoint. It also suggests a reason why it proved so difficult to map a melody of the Enigma Theme: Elgar began his counterpoint with the closing phrase of Ein feste Burg, and did not include its opening phrase until the bridge section disguised as a transition between the Enigma Theme and Variation I.

The case case for Ein feste Burg as the unstated principal Theme to the Enigma Variations is extensive and compelling, particularly since it is the only melody even shown to play through and over each of the movements just as Elgar prescribed in the original 1899 program note. Conveniently, Elgar authenticates Ein feste Burg as the melodic solution means of an ingenious Music Box Cipher hidden within the first six measures of the Enigma Theme. This cipher is Elgar’s “dark saying” linked to the Enigma. The evidence proves Elgar did not take his secret to the grave. On the contrary, he enciphered the answer within the orchestral score to guarantee it would never be lost. Once discovered and decrypted, the answer would remain unguessed just as he predicted. There is a distinct subset of ciphers in the Mendelssohn fragments that point to Ein feste Burg as the covert Theme. Regarding the cryptographic significance of these Mendelssohn fragments, Rushton has surely missed the proverbial boat.

There is an undeniable elegance to these solutions, for they offer a rich tapestry of interconnected concepts and ideas. The Enigma Variations revolve around a hidden theme with a hidden message about a hidden friend. Like the hidden messages encoded within the Enigma Theme, the lyrics of its secret melody mention the secret friend by name, Christ Jesus. The concept of a hidden God (le dieu caché) who is omnipresent is suggested by means of an invisible, larger theme that plays through and over the set. The Romanza Cipher in Variation XIII names the Turin Shroud, a sacred relic with a hidden image of Jesus. Knowing the secret friend’s real identity makes sense of the deathly stillness of that poignant movement, and explains why it was performed at Elgar’s funeral. Elgar’s paraphrase from Tasso’s epic Christian poem Jerusalem Delivered assumes a new dimension of significance. Jerusalem is where Jesus was crucified, entombed, and resurrected, wrapped in a linen shroud that miraculously recorded the image of his crucified body. There is an undeniable connection between Tasso and the Turin Shroud, for he was the guest of honor during its inaugural exhibition at Turin. The Enigma Theme suggests Christ’s first coming as a suffering Messiah, and the martial Finale his Second Coming as a conquering King who rules the world from Jerusalem. Symbolically the Tasso quotation appears at the end of the original score.

Even when confronted by a towering tsunami of multivalent evidence, Julian Rushton sees nothing more than a ripple in a pond, a tempest in a teacup. He remains unconvinced Elgar's enigmas are resolved, insisting the answers must seem obvious. How he continues to rationalize such a position when tens of billions of people over the past century failed to fathom the secrets of the Enigma Variations is the real enigma. By now it should be excruciatingly obvious those solutions are far from obvious, except perhaps to someone from the Victorian era with an extreme fascination for Catholicism, codes, and counterpoint. For Rushton, the jury is still out without a verdict in sight, for how could it be otherwise when the proceedings are presided over by a kangaroo court? Rushton's recalcitrant skepticism invites the following observation by Charles Babbage:

Propose to an Englishman any principle, or any instrument, however admirable, and you will observe that the whole effort of the English mind is directed to find a difficulty, a defect, or an impossibility in it. If you speak to him of a machine for peeling a potato, he will pronounce it impossible: if you peel a potato with it before his eyes, he will declare it useless, because it will not slice a pineapple. Impart the same principle or show the same machine to an American or to one of our Colonists, and you will observe that the whole effort of his mind is to find some new application of the principle, some new use for the instrument.

In this matter, I am unabashedly American. To learn more about the secrets of the Enigma Variations, read my eBook Elgar’s Enigmas Exposed. Please help support and expand my original research by becoming a sponsor on Patreon.

Soli Yah Gloria

The Turin Shroud

Footnotes

[1] The Elgar Society Journal, November 2010 Vol. 16 No. 6, p. 3.

[2] Rushton, Julian. Elgar: Enigma Variations (Cambridge Music Handbooks). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999, pp. 66-67.

[3] The Elgar Society Journal, November 2010 Vol. 16 No. 6, p. 4.

[4] Original 1899 program note by C. A. Barry citing a letter by Elgar

[5] The Musical Times (October 1, 1900), p. 647.

[6] Turner, Patrick. Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations - a Centenary Celebration. London: Thames Publishing, 1999, p. 51.

[7] Buckley, Robert J. Sir Edward Elgar (1905). New York: Kessinger Publishing, Llc, 2009, p. xi.

[8] Rushton, Julian. Elgar: Enigma Variations (Cambridge Music Handbooks). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 105.

[9] Buckley, Robert J. Sir Edward Elgar (1905). New York: Kessinger Publishing, Llc, 2009, p. ix.

[10] Ibid, p. 54-55.

[11] Turner, Patrick. Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations - a Centenary Celebration. London: Thames Publishing, 1999, p. 146.

[12] Moore, J. N. (1987). Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 43.

[13] McVeagh, D. (2007). Elgar the Music Maker. Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, p. 75.

[14] Rushton, Julian. Elgar: Enigma Variations (Cambridge Music Handbooks). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 66.

[15] Buckley, Robert J. Sir Edward Elgar (1905). New York: Kessinger Publishing, Llc, 2009, p. 41.

[16] Rushton, Julian. Elgar: Enigma Variations (Cambridge Music Handbooks). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 67.

[17] Ibid, p. 69.

[18] Patterson, A. W. (1908). Schumann. New York & London: J.M. Dent & Co. and E.P. Dutton and Co. (Original work published 1903), p. 83.

[19] Kennedy, Michael. The Life of Elgar (Musical Lives). illustrated edition ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 141.

[20] Powell, D. M. (1947). Edward Elgar: Memories of a variation (2^nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press, p. 23.

[21] Rushton, Julian. Elgar: Enigma Variations (Cambridge Music Handbooks). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 47.

[22] Elgar, Edward. Letters to Nimrod: Edward Elgar to August Jaeger, 1897-1908. London: Dobson, 1965, p. 45.

[23] Rushton, Julian. Elgar: Enigma Variations (Cambridge Music Handbooks). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 13.

[24] Ibid, p. 77.