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| Isabel Fitton (1868-1936) |
I am an unashamed champion of tonality…Tonality means line; line means melody; melody means song; and song, especially folk song, is the essence of music, because it is the natural, spontaneous and primordial expression of human emotion.
Edward Elgar dedicated Variation VI from his Enigma Variations to his viola student, Isabel Fitton (1868-1936). The variation’s characteristic string crossing figures performed by the viola represent a string crossing exercise Elgar assigned Isabel at her viola lessons, rendering Variation VI one of the most musically intimate and programmatically specific portraits in the entire set. Elgar knew the Fitton family from his youth. When Elgar was appointed the artistic director of the Worcestershire Philharmonic Society in the Fall of 1897, he appointed Isabel as one of its two secretaries. The other secretary was Winifred Norbury, the friend pictured within Variation VIII. Elgar chose the chorus “Wach Auf” from Richard Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Master-Singers of Nuremberg) to serve as the motto and theme song of the newly founded Society. Wagner’s opera is saturated with Lutheran theology, imagery, and music. Elgar’s selection is highly relevant to this investigation because “Wach Auf” is a Lutheran anthem with lyrics by the Lutheran apologist Hans Sachs and music by the Lutheran composer Wagner. Elgar conducted performances of “Wach Auf” before, during, and after composing the Enigma Variations.
Elgar chose to acknowledge Isabel using the Old Testament version of her name. In Hebrew Ysobel is derived from Elisheba, meaning “Oath of God” or “God is her oath.” Elizabeth is the more common spelling of that ancient Hebrew name. Elizabeth was the wife of Zachariah, the mother of John the Baptist, and a cousin to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Just as John the Baptist preceded Jesus, so does Variation VI precede Variation XIII. The secret friend portrayed in Variation XIII is none other than Jesus, Elgar’s Lord and Savior according to his Roman Catholic faith.
The following short score reduction illustrates how Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) plays “through and over” Variation VI as a counterpoint. The hymn is played by the trumpet in the upper staff while the movement is performed on piano in the lower two staves.
The phrases of the hymn are sourced from three contrasting versions of Ein feste Burg. Phrases A, B, and F reflect Bach’s rendering in the final chorale (“Das Wort sie sollen lassen stahn”) from his Cantata BWV 80. Phrase C is based on Mendelssohn’s distinct adaptation from the Finale of the Reformation Symphony, which corresponds to Bach’s version. Phrase D follows the pattern of Luther’s original version, which Bach faithfully preserved in his rendering. Phrase E reflects Mendelssohn’s version. Consult the following exhibit to readily compare three versions of Ein feste Burg by Luther, Bach, and Mendelssohn.
The following short score tracks the contrapuntal course of Ein feste Burg through and over Variation VI by cataloguing two categories of note matches between the hymn and the movement. A melodic conjunction is defined as any matching note between the melody of Ein feste Burg and the melody line of the variation. A harmonic conjunction is defined as a match between a melody note from the covert principal Theme and any non-melodic note sounding simultaneously in the variation. Both melodic and harmonic conjunctions require the matching notes to sound together to qualify as a match. 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. The total number of melodic conjunctions, harmonic conjunctions, and their combined sum serve as objective measures 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 VI achieves precisely that objective.
The contrapuntal devices of augmentation, diminution, similar motion (SM), and contrary motion (CM) are also observed in the annotated score. For the purposes of this analysis, similar motion encompasses any instances of parallel motion, and contrary motion any instances of oblique motion. In some cases, the upper voice of the variation moves in parallel with Ein feste Burg while the bass line moves in a contrary manner. An effective counterpoint typically employs a fairly balanced mix of contrary and similar motion, something clearly evident throughout this mapping.
The following table identifies 41 melodic conjunctions between Ein feste Burg and Variation VI dispersed across 17 active bars, covering 77% of the movement’s 22 measures. In most bars where melodic conjunctions are absent, harmonic conjunctions maintain the contrapuntal connection. The sole exception is the concluding bar (209), where the hymn withdraws entirely as the movement comes to a close. The 41 melodic conjunctions encompass six note types with frequencies ranging between 3 and 10. Notes B, C, and G lead with 10 matches each (24% each), followed by note A with 5 (12%), and notes E and F with 3 each (7% each). Together, the three most frequent notes — B, C, and G — account for nearly three-quarters (73%) of all melodic conjunctions, reflecting the tonic (C), dominant (G), and leading tone (B) of C major, the home key of Variation VI.
The next table breaks down 77 harmonic conjunctions between Ein feste Burg and Variation VI across 20 active bars, representing 91% of the movement's 22 measures. The 77 harmonic conjunctions encompass nine note types with frequencies ranging between 1 and 24. Note C leads decisively with 24 matches (31%), followed by G with 16 (21%), A with 14 (18%), B with 9 (12%), F with 6 (8%), E with 4 (5%), F♯ with 2 (3%), and D and G♯ each with 1 (1% each). Together the two most frequent notes — C and G — account for more than half (52%) of all harmonic conjunctions, reflecting the tonic and dominant poles of C major, the home key of Variation VI. The prominence of C and G across both melodic and harmonic conjunctions is a striking feature of this mapping, underscoring the deep harmonic coherence between Ein feste Burg and Variation VI.
There is a combined total of 118 note conjunctions (41 melodic + 77 harmonic) across the active bars of Variation VI, covering 21 of 22 measures for a 95% coverage rate. The sole exception is the final bar (209), a concluding gesture where neither melodic nor harmonic conjunctions are recorded. Notably, the remaining 21 bars all feature some combination of melodic and/or harmonic conjunctions, demonstrating that Ein feste Burg engages the full harmonic texture of Variation VI rather than merely skimming its surface melody.
This comprehensive, note-by-note penetration — from the opening bars to the final cadence — embodies the defining hallmark of a genuine contrapuntal mapping. Elgar’s own description of the hidden theme proceeding “through and over” the entire set of Variations is thus borne out with striking quantitative precision. Far from merely visiting Variation VI in passing, Ein feste Burg permeates it at every structural level: melodically with the movement’s principal tune, harmonically with its inner voices, and formally with the nine-phrase arc (ABABCDEFB) from first note to last. Such a pervasive and structurally coherent alignment — encompassing 118 sequential note conjunctions across six melodic and nine harmonic note types — provides compelling, quantifiable evidence that Ein feste Burg forms a clear and convincing counterpoint to Variation VI.
The test Elgar set is straightforward but demanding: the covert principal theme must play “through and over” the entire set of 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 has met that test across every movement without exception, replicating sequential note content phrase by phrase while preserving the hymn’s phrase architecture from the Enigma Theme to the Finale. Ein feste Burg stands in a class all its own because it accomplishes what no other attempted solution can: it plays “through and over” the set as a counterpoint.
Conclusion
The contrapuntal evidence presented in this essay demonstrates that Ein feste Burg serves as a compelling counterpoint to Variation VI (Ysobel), consistent with Elgar’s 1899 program note. The contrapuntal mapping yields 41 melodic conjunctions and 77 harmonic conjunctions for a combined total of 118 spanning 21 of the movement’s 22 measures for a coverage rate of 95%. When melodic and harmonic conjunctions are considered together, every one of the 21 active bars contains at least one conjunction of either type, rising to 100% coverage of all active measures. The sole exception is the final bar (209), a concluding gesture where the hymn gracefully withdraws as the movement comes to rest.
Equally significant is the structural integrity of the mapping. The phrase structure of Ein feste Burg unfolds across Variation VI in the sequence ABABCDEFB — nine phrases in all, preserving the correct phrase order of the hymn without reordering, compression, or omission. This intact phrase architecture mirrors the complete phrase structure of Ein feste Burg from first note to last, consistent with the rigorous contrapuntal standard Elgar set for his hidden theme.
The melodic and harmonic conjunctions and the integrity of the phrase structure form a coherent and mutually reinforcing body of evidence affirming that Variation VI is a clear and convincing counterpoint to Ein feste Burg. Elgar’s description of the hidden theme playing "through and over" the entire set of Variations is borne out here with striking quantitative precision: 118 sequential note conjunctions across six melodic and nine harmonic note types, permeating the movement at every structural level from first note to last. To learn more about the secrets behind the Enigma Variations, read my free eBook Elgar's Enigmas Exposed. Please support my original research by becoming a sponsor on Patreon.
3 comments:
One could take just about any tune in straightforward major tonality and "map" it onto this charming variation. What you have created here is the musical equivalent of the Procrustean Bed.
There is no justification for your very un-Victorian rhythmic distortions of Luther's melody -- none whatsoever.
The fact is that you want a particular outcome and you are manipulating what you want and ignoring what you don't want in order to achieve it.
And, by the way, "Parallel motion" is not so much a contrapuntal "principle," as you put it, as something that Elgar would have striven to avoid. To invoke it as a justification for how you have chosen to distort and force Luther's tune onto Elgar's music suggests that your own grasp of counterpoint is faulty.
Notice that Anonymous asserts just about any tune could be mapped over this variation without furnishing any evidence in support of such a grandiose claim. Much the same could be said about the rest of Anonymous' comments – vacuous verbiage devoid of any concrete evidence. As for the claim Luther’s tune is forced and distorted, the same could be said about its various renderings by Bach, Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Raff and Wagner. Understandably I count myself in good company.
The second note (C) in the first measure should be classified as a Melodic Conjunction.
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