Variation IX (Nimrod) with "Ein feste Burg"

August Jaeger (1860–1909)

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.”

Genesis 10:9 ESV

Variation IX from the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar is dedicated to August Jaeger, Elgar’s friend and champion at the London music publishing firm Novello. Elgar’s unusual nickname (Nimrod) is a wordplay on the dedicatee’s German surname. “Jaeger” is German for hunter, and Genesis 10:9 describes Nimrod as “a mighty hunter.” For those who failed to appreciate the linguistic connection between Nimrod and Jaeger, Elgar cleverly encodes his friend’s initials using the Roman numerals IX. “I” represents one, and the first letter of the alphabet is A. “X” is ten, and the tenth letter is J. Using a simple number-to-letter key, IX translates into the plaintext “AJ,” the initials for August Jaeger.

Nimrod is the tenth movement of the Enigma Variations and is assigned the Roman numeral “IX,” which denotes the number nine. A standard abbreviation of Genesis is “Ge.” This practice is documented in such sources as The Imperial Bible, published in the United Kingdom in 1866. The first two melody notes of Nimrod are G descending a major 3rd to E♭. These note letters encode an abbreviation of Genesis. The position of Nimrod as the tenth movement of the Variations, its Roman numerals (IX), and its opening two melody note letters combine to spell “Ge. 10:9”. Remarkably, Genesis 10:9 is the scriptural foundation for Elgar’s wordplay on Jaeger’s German name.

The letters “AJ” are an anagram of “Ja”, the German word for yes. In contrast, “nine” is an anagram of “Nein,” the German word for no. With the Roman numerals and the numbers they designate, Elgar hints at the German words for yes and no. Remarkably, the German word “Nein” has within it the first word from the title Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress). Elgar’s unmistakable emphasis on the German language serves as a beacon, one ordinarily overlooked by mainstream scholars whose more restrained approach to language is anything but flexible or amusing.

At Rehearsal 33 on the autograph score shown below, Elgar indicates the timpani’s tuning for Variation IX as E♭, B♭, and F. Remarkably, these three note letters form an anagram of “EFB,” the acronym of Ein feste Burg.

Rehearsal 33 from the manuscript score of the Enigma Variations
(Image courtesy of The British Library)

The first three letters of Elgar’s directions to the timpani are “in E…” Those three starting letters are an anagram of “Ein,” the first word of Ein feste Burg. Using the timpani instructions at Rehearsal 33, Elgar deftly enciphers the initials and first word of the covert melody’s German title. This cryptogram bears a coded form of the composer’s initials as “33” is the mirror image of Elgar’s initials, consisting of two capital cursive Es.

The name “Nimrod” carries two biblical connotations that jointly point toward the hidden melody’s title. Genesis 10:9 describes Nimrod as “a mighty hunter,” supplying the title’s first two words. According to extrabiblical tradition, Nimrod is remembered as a builder of fortified cities — fortresses — a reputation durable enough that a medieval castle in the Golan Heights still bears his name: Nimrod Fortress. Merging the two connotations “a mighty” and “fortress” yields “A Mighty Fortress.” The dedication of Variation IX to the only German friend depicted in the Enigma Variations hints at the next step of translating that English phrase into German as Ein feste Burg.

After identifying Ein feste Burg as the secret melody of the Enigma Variations, the next step was to assess whether it could convincingly play “through and over” each of the movements as a counterpoint, a requirement stipulated by Elgar in multiple primary sources. The first movement subjected to this acid test was the most elegiac in the collection, Variation IX (Nimrod). This mapping was undertaken in response to a challenge from Dr. Clive McClelland, who was aware of my proposed melodic solution as early as February 2009 and, in a book review published in the July 2009 issue of The Elgar Society Journal, dismissed it as implausible on musical grounds.

The following short score reduction documents how Ein feste Burg plays “through and over” Variation IX as a counterpoint. The hymn’s canonical phrase structure (ABABCDEFB) unfolds across Variation IX in the elaborated sequence ABABCDEFABA’ — eleven phrases in all, proceeding through two statements of Phrases A and B before continuing through Phrases C, D, E, and F, then closing with a final restatement of Phrases A and B and a partial return of Phrase A’. Ein feste Burg is dormant in bars 343–346, a brief interruption that, as with each variation, serves to confuse and camouflage the hidden counterpoint. An audiovisual demonstration supports the efficacy of this contrapuntal solution. The ability to map both the notes and phrases of Ein feste Burg in their correct sequential order across the full extent of Variation IX constitutes compelling evidence of a deliberate and systematic counterpoint.

In its original form, Ein feste Burg (like the Enigma Theme) is set in common time (4/4). In contrast, Variation IX uses three rather than four quarter-note beats per measure (3/4). This obviously demands some flexibility in interpolating the notes of the covert melody “through and over” the movement. Just as Elgar more freely construed the Enigma Theme in each of the variations, so too must the secret melody play more fluidly through and over the whole set. To accomplish these melodic mappings, it is imperative to take into consideration each movement’s particular meter, key, and melodic and harmonic architecture. In his paper “Shadows of the Evening: New Light on Elgar’s ‘Dark Saying’,” Dr. McClelland cogently argues in favor of the application of free rhythm.

The phrases of Ein feste Burg mapped over Variation IX originate from three contrasting versions of the hymn to form a tribrid melody, a pattern established elsewhere across the Enigma Theme and Variations I–VIII. Phrases A and A’ reflect Bach’s rendering in the final chorale (“Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn”) from his Cantata BWV 80, as does the closing statement of Phrase A. Phrase B follows Luther’s original version throughout each of its three appearances. Phrase C draws on both Bach’s and Mendelssohn’s renderings, while Phrase D follows the pattern common to all three versions — Luther’s original, retained alike by Bach and Mendelssohn. Phrases E and F reflect Mendelssohn’s distinct version, both drawn from the Finale of the Reformation Symphony. The sequence closes with a final statement of Phrase B (Luther) followed by the partial return of Phrase A’ (Bach). Ecclesiastes 4:12 declares that a threefold cord is not easily broken; and so it is with this tribrid theme, woven from the distinct but harmonious contributions of Luther, Bach, and Mendelssohn. Consult the following exhibit to easily compare phrases from all three versions of Ein feste Burg.

The following short score tracks the contrapuntal course of Ein feste Burg "through and over" Variation IX by cataloguing two categories of note matches between the hymn and the movement. A melodic conjunction is defined as any matching note between the hymn melody  and the melody line of the variation. A harmonic conjunction is defined as a match between a melody note from the chorale and any non-melodic note sounding simultaneously in the score. Both melodic and harmonic conjunctions require matching notes to sound together. In the annotated short score, a melodic conjunction is represented by a diamond-shaped note head, and a harmonic conjunction by a triangle-shaped note head. Variation IX generates 48 melodic conjunctions and 132 harmonic conjunctions, for a combined total of 180 — the total number of melodic and harmonic conjunctions serves as an objective measure of the efficacy of this contrapuntal solution. A robust counterpoint will distribute these matches broadly across the movement rather than clustering them in isolated passages, and the mapping of Ein feste Burg through and over Variation IX achieves precisely that objective.

Various contrapuntal devices are evident in this mapping including augmentation, diminution, parallel motion, oblique motion, similar motion, and contrary motion. An effective counterpoint typically employs a fairly balanced mix of contrary and similar motion, something clearly evident throughout this mapping.

The following table identifies 48 melodic conjunctions between Ein feste Burg and Variation IX dispersed across 23 active bars, covering 53% of the movement’s 43 measures. In most bars where melodic conjunctions are absent, harmonic conjunctions maintain the contrapuntal connection. The 48 melodic conjunctions encompass seven note types with frequencies ranging between 1 and 16. Note B♭ leads with 16 matches (33%), followed by E♭ and C, tied at 11 each (23% apiece), A♭ with 4 (8%), D with 3 (6%), G with 2 (4%), and A with 1 (2%). The three most frequent notes (B♭, E♭, and C) account for nearly four-fifths (79%) of all melodic conjunctions, reflecting the dominant (B♭), tonic (E♭), and submediant (C) of E♭ major, the home key of Variation IX.

The next table identifies 132 harmonic conjunctions between Ein feste Burg and Variation IX dispersed across 36 active bars, covering 84% of the movement’s 43 measures. 132 harmonic conjunctions encompass nine note types with frequencies ranging between 1 and 66. Note E♭ leads with 66 matches (50%), followed by B♭ with 29 (22%), C with 18 (14%), A♭ with 7 (5%), D with 6 (5%), F with 3 (2%), and A, B, and G tied at 1 match apiece (1% each). The three most frequent notes (E♭, B♭, and C) account for well over four-fifths (86%) of all harmonic conjunctions, reflecting the tonic (E♭), dominant (B♭), and submediant (C) of E♭ major, the home key of Variation IX — the same three scale degrees that dominate the movement's melodic conjunctions as well.

There is a combined total of 180 note conjunctions (48 melodic + 132 harmonic) across the active bars of Variation IX, covering 39 of the movement's 43 measures for a 91% coverage rate. While melodic conjunctions are present in 23 of the 39 active bars, harmonic conjunctions maintain the contrapuntal connection throughout the remaining 16, ensuring that every active measure features some combination of melodic and/or harmonic conjunctions. This demonstrates that Ein feste Burg engages the full harmonic texture of Variation IX rather than merely overlapping with its surface melody.

This comprehensive, note-by-note penetration — from the opening bars to the closing cadence, interrupted only briefly by the four dormant measures at 343–346 — embodies the defining hallmark of a genuine contrapuntal mapping. Elgar’s own description of the hidden theme proceeding “through and over” the set of Variations is thus borne out with striking quantitative precision. Far from merely visiting Variation IX in passing, Ein feste Burg permeates it at nearly every structural level: melodically with the movement's principal tune, harmonically with its inner voices, and formally with the eleven-phrase arc (ABABCDEFABA’) from the first note to the last. Such a pervasive and structurally coherent alignment — encompassing 180 sequential note conjunctions across seven melodic and nine harmonic note types — provides compelling, quantifiable evidence that Ein feste Burg forms a clear and convincing counterpoint to Variation IX.

The test Elgar set is straightforward but demanding. The covert principal theme must play “through and over” the set of Enigma Variations as a counterpoint. More than a century of purported solutions have failed to meet that requirement, for none has ever been successfully mapped contrapuntally above any complete movement. Ein feste Burg satisfies that test from the Enigma Theme to the Finale, replicating sequential note content phrase by phrase while preserving the hymn’s phrase architecture. In consideration of that extraordinary feat, Ein feste Burg stands in a class all its own.

Conclusion

Variation IX (Nimrod) rewards scrutiny on every level at which Elgar is known to have constructed his puzzles: verbal, cryptographic, and musical. The movement’s title operates as a layered cipher: “Nimrod” plays on Jaeger’s German surname for “hunter,” while the Roman numeral IX independently encodes his initials through a simple number-to-letter key. A second layer of wordplay emerges from the encoded initials “AJ” as an anagram of “Ja,” and the movement’s numbering “nine” as an anagram of “Nein.” These anagrams hint at the German words for yes and no, with nein itself containing the covert melody’s opening word, Ein. Elgar carries this cipher into the orchestration at Rehearsal 33. The timpani tuning direction’s opening letters, “in E,” form an anagram of Ein, while the three tuned notes themselves (E♭, B♭, and F) form an anagram of “EFB,” the acronym for Ein feste Burg. The rehearsal number “33” adds a third layer at the same location, mirroring the composer’s own initials. Even the biblical connotations of the name Nimrod converge on the Theme’s title, merging “a mighty” from Genesis 10:9 with Nimrod's extrabiblical reputation as a builder of fortresses to yield “A Mighty Fortress,” Ein feste Burg rendered into Jaeger’s native tongue.

The musical evidence is equally exacting. The contrapuntal mapping of Ein feste Burg “through and over” Variation IX produces 48 melodic conjunctions and 132 harmonic conjunctions for a combined total of 180, spanning 39 of the movement’s 43 measures for a coverage rate of 91%. Where melodic conjunctions fall silent, harmonic conjunctions consistently maintain the contrapuntal thread, so that all but the four dormant measures at bars 343–346 carry some trace of the hidden tune. This is not a scattering of coincidental overlaps but a sustained architecture. The hymn’s canonical phrase structure (ABABCDEFB) unfolds across the movement in the elaborated sequence ABABCDEFABA’, preserving the correct order of all seven phrases before closing with a final restatement of Phrases A and B and a partial return of Phrase A’.

As with the Enigma Theme and Variations I through VIII, the phrases mapped across Variation IX are tribrid in origin, drawn from three distinct historical settings of the hymn: Luther's original, Bach's harmonization in Cantata BWV 80, and Mendelssohn's treatment in the Reformation Symphony — woven together as a threefold cord not easily broken. That this particular movement should carry the fullest weight of the demonstration is fitting. Variation IX was the first movement subjected to this contrapuntal test, undertaken in response to Dr. Clive McClelland’s 2009 dismissal of Ein feste Burg as an implausible and unworkable counterpoint. The density and precision of the conjunctions documented here stand as the direct, evidence-based answer to that skepticism.

The wordplay embedded in the movement’s title and orchestration, the biblical and etymological threads converging on the Theme’s German title, and the quantitative rigor of 180 note conjunctions distributed across a structurally intact eleven-phrase mapping supply overwhelming evidence that Ein feste Burg is a viable counterpoint to Variation IX exactly as Elgar’s own accounts of the secret melody require.  Readers wishing to explore the full analytical framework behind this and the other fourteen movements are invited to consult my free eBook, Elgar’s Enigmas Exposed. Like my heavenly Father’s gift of salvation, the price is free. Please support my original research by becoming a sponsor on Patreon.

Soli Yah Gloria