HEW David Steuart-Powell was a well-known amateur pianist and a great player of chamber music. He was associated with B.G.N. (Cello) and the Composer (Violin) for many years in this playing. His characteristic diatonic run over the keys before beginning to play is here humorously travestied in the semiquaver passages ; these should suggest a Toccato, but chromatic beyond H.D.S-P.’s liking.
Edward Elgar in My Friends Pictured Within
The late romantic English composer Edward Elgar (1857–1934) excelled in coding and decoding secret messages, a discipline formally known as cryptography. In the April 2021 issue of The Elgar Society Journal, chief editor Keven Mitchell candidly admits that for Elgar, “Wordplay, anagrams, spoonerisms, ciphers, and puzzles were fun and remained a lifelong fascination.” Elgar’s obsession with ciphers merits an entire chapter in Craig P. Bauer’s treatise Unsolved! The bulk of its third chapter is devoted to Elgar’s brilliant decryption of an allegedly insoluble Nihilist cipher conceived by John Holt Schooling that was published in an April 1896 issue of The Pall Mall Magazine. A Nihilist cipher is a derivative of the Polybius square. Elgar was so gratified by his solution to Schooling’s reputedly impenetrable code that he specifically mentions it in his first biography released in 1905 by Robert J. Buckley.
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Elgar painted his solution in black paint on a wooden box, an appropriate medium as another name for the Polybius square is a box cipher. His methodical decryption is summarized on a set of nine index cards. On the sixth card, Elgar relates the task of cracking the cipher to “. . . working (in the dark).” His parenthetical expression using the word “dark” as a synonym for a cipher is significant because he deploys that same phraseology in the original 1899 program note to characterize the Enigma Theme. It is an oft-cited passage worth revisiting as Elgar lays the groundwork for his tripartite riddle:
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.
Elgar employs the words “dark” and “secret'' interchangeably in a letter to August Jaeger penned on February 5, 1900. He writes, “Well — I can’t help it but I hate continually saying ‘Keep it dark’ — ‘a dead secret’ — & so forth.” One of the meanings of dark is secret, and a saying is a series of words that form a phrase or adage. Based on these definitions, Elgar’s cryptic expression — “dark saying” — is a coded way of acknowledging there is an enciphered message in the Enigma Theme.
Mainstream scholars speculate that the Enigma Variations have no answer because Elgar allegedly concocted the notion of an absent principal Theme as an afterthought, practical joke, or marketing gimmick. The editors of the Elgar Complete Edition casually deny the likelihood of any covert counterpoints or cryptograms. Relying on Elgar’s recollection of playing new material at the piano to gauge his wife’s reaction, they tout the standard lore that he must have extemporized the idiosyncratic Enigma Theme mirabelle dictu without any forethought or planning:
There seems to have been no specific ‘enigma’ in mind at the outset: Elgar’s first playing of the music was hardly more than a running over the keys to aid relaxation. It was Alice Elgar’s interruption, apparently, that called him to attention and helped to identify the phrases which were to become the ‘Enigma’ theme. This suggests it is unlikely that the theme should conceal some counterpoint or cipher needed to solve the ‘Enigma’.
Such a blanket abnegation conveniently relieves scholars of the obligation to probe for ciphers. The gargantuan irony is that proponents of this crude denialism extol the validity of their position based on a dearth of evidence for which they never executed a diligent or impartial search. Such a ridiculous state of affairs is a textbook case of confirmation bias pawned off as peer-reviewed scholarship.
The more sensible view (embraced by those who take Elgar at his published word) accepts the challenge that there is a famous melody lurking behind the Variations’ contrapuntal and modal facade. In his 1905 biograph, Elgar plainly states, “The theme is a counterpoint on some well-known melody which is never heard . . .” Legacy scholars insist the answer can never be known because Elgar allegedly took his secret to the grave. This absolutism presumes he never wrote down the solution for posterity to discover. Such a rigid opinion glosses over or blatantly ignores Elgar’s documented obsession with cryptography. That incontestable facet of his psyche raises the prospect that the solution is skillfully encoded within Enigma Variations’ orchestral score.
A decade of trawling the Enigma Variations has netted over one hundred cryptograms in diverse formats that encode a set of mutually consistent and complementary solutions. Although that sum may seem extraordinary, it is entirely consistent with Elgar’s obsession with ciphers. More significantly, their solutions give definitive answers to the riddles posed by the Enigma Variations. What is the secret melody to which the Enigma Theme is a counterpoint and serves as the melodic unifier for the ensuing movements? Answer: Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) by Martin Luther. What is Elgar’s “dark saying” hidden within the Enigma Theme? Answer: A musical Polybius box cipher located in the opening six bars. Who is the secret friend and inspiration behind Variation XIII? Answer: Jesus Christ, the Savior of Elgar’s Roman Catholic faith.
Variation II “Hide Psalm 46” Ciphers
The profusion of ciphers throughout the Enigma Variations demands a sustained search for other cryptograms. These efforts continue to harvest new discoveries with the most recent set emerging in Variation II. Elgar dedicated that work “. . . to my Friends pictured within.” The second variation is a sketch of Hew David Stuart Powell (1851–1924), a talented pianist and graduate of Exeter College. Although he resided in London, Powell visited Malvern often to participate in musicales throughout the 1890s. He performed in trios with Basil Nevison, the dedicatee of the twelfth variation, and Edward Elgar whose musical self-portrait is the fourteenth variation.
The title for the second variation is the Roman numerals “II.” followed by Powell’s initials enclosed in parentheses.
II.
(H. D. S-P.)
Elgar inserts a hyphen between the initials S and P, a feature conspicuously absent from Powell’s name in his published 1878 university records.
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| Hew David Steuart Powell’s university record sans hyphen |
Alfred Kalish published a program note about the Enigma Variations that incorrectly titled the second variation as “H. D. J-P.” In a letter dated March 24, 1904, Elgar lightheartedly corrects the misprint. He writes, “. . . H. D. J-P. — he (Var:II) is not a JP but a respectable member of a University Club & therefore worthy of respect not only in St Jame’s St. & Regent’s Park but also in Kensington & Earl Court.” Elgar’s humorous use of “JP” appears to denote a “Junior Partner” of a law firm, a lawyer beneath Powell’s social station. It is noteworthy that Elgar first slips in a hyphen between the initials J and P, but then omits it in the second mention.
Why would Elgar insert a hyphen in Powell’s initials where none exists? The explanation hinges on Elgar’s fascination with ciphers. A hyphen between the S and P indicates they are connected. When read backward, the last two initials form the standard abbreviation of Psalm as “Ps.” This decryption is bolstered by the realization that the initial D preceding “S-P” stands for David. The Psalms are attributed predominantly to the Old Testament Patriarch David. Merriam-Webster defines psalm as “a sacred song or poem used in worship.”
It is feasible to assemble the word “PSALM” from glyphs in the title area of Variation II. The first two letters are the hyphenated letters “S-P.” The next two are supplied by the first and second letters of the performance direction Allegro. The concluding M is furnished by the oversized 3 glyph from the time signature 3/8. Interpolating the 3 as a coded form of M is justified by Elgar’s flexible treatment of that glyph in his Dorabella Cipher conceived in July 1897. In that cryptogram, Elgar reorients a capital cursive E to duplicate the number 3 and letter M.
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| The Dorabella Cipher |
The remaining initials H and D may be combined with the Roman numerals “II” to spell “HIID”, a phonetic realization of hide. Such a phonetic reading is warranted by Elgar’s use of inventive phonetic phonetic spellings in his correspondence. Some examples of his innovative spellings are shown below:
Bizziness (business)
çkor (score)
cszquōrrr (score)
fagotten (forgotten)
FAX (facts)
frazes (phrases)
gorjus (gorgeous)
phatten (fatten)
skorh (score)
SSCZOWOUGHOHR (score)
Xmas (Christmas)
Xqqqq (Excuse)
Xti (Christi)
Splitting the Roman numerals permits the alternative anagram “I HID PSALM.” That declaration is Elgar’s coded admission that he concealed a hymn in the Enigma Variations. A cryptanalysis of the title area of Variation II on the Autograph Score confirms that it enciphers the acrostic anagrams “Hide Psalm” and “I hid Psalm.” Those decryptions are fitting descriptions of how Elgar shrouded Luther’s hymn Ein feste Burg behind a contrapuntal facade called Enigma.
It is equally feasible to spell Psalm as an acrostic anagram from discrete performance terms in bar 41 using the first letters of p[iano], stacc., Allegro and the 3 from the time signature that may be reoriented to duplicate a cursive M. Elgar pinpoints the precise Psalm by using 46 characters in all of the performance terms situated in bar 41. Those items are tabulated with character counts in the table below:
Some cryptograms in the Enigma Variations are marked by Elgar’s initials. This pattern extends to the performance directions “Psalm” cipher in bar 41. The Rehearsal number (5) assigned to that measure encodes the initial E using a basic number-to-letter key (1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, etc.). Adding the bar number (41) with the Rehearsal number (5) produces 46, the same number identified by the 46-second duration of Variation II.
Which Psalm did Elgar hide in Variation II? There are four periods and six letters in the published title of that movement. When placed together, these numerals spell “46.” The duration of Variation affirms this solution. It starts in bar 41 and concludes on the downbeat of bar 96 for a total of 55.33 measures. With a time signature of three eighth notes per measure (3/8), the designated tempo is Allegro with a dotted quarter set at 72 beats per minute. Dividing 55.33 bars by 72 beats per minute pinpoints a duration of 0.768 of a minute which is 46 seconds. With highly attuned mathematical precision, the prescribed length of the second variation in seconds implicates Psalm 46, a chapter known as “Luther’s Psalm” because it inspired the hymn Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress). The number 72 is intriguing as Psalms 1 through 72 are traditionally attributed to David as acknowledged in Psalm 72:20.
The specific Psalm concealed by the second variation is reinforced by other cryptograms embedded throughout that movement. Performance directions in bars 41, 43, 58, 83, 93, and 95 from the second variation encode seven abbreviations of Psalm (Ps) as acrostic anagrams. These ciphers are similar to others associated with the Mendelssohn quotations in Variation XIII. Starting in bar 41, the first violin staff is assigned “p” (piano) followed by “stacc.” (staccato) that form the first acrostic anagram of “ps”. This cryptogram is reprised in bar 43 in the second violin staff. In both cases, “unis.” (unison) appears above and “p stacc.” below the violin staves. Four letters in “unis.” and six italicized letters in “p stacc.” ingeniously encode the numerals required to spell 46. In bar 43 of the Elgar Complete Edition, “unis.” is enclosed by parentheses as Elgar included it in the published second violin part.
In bar 58, the cellos and contrabasses perform a variant of the Engima Theme given the performance directions “p” and “sostenuto”. These terms encipher two more “ps” abbreviations as acrostic anagrams. Four performance terms at Rehearsal 6 in the cello and contrabass staves encode standard abbreviations of Psalm. The sum of the performance directions (4) and cue number (6) provide a coded allusion to the number 46. Another way that this number is suggested in bar 58 is by four notes played in the string section and six in the woodwinds. This is the exact same chapter hinted at with the first two coded abbreviations of Psalm in the performance directions of bars 41 and 43.
In bar 83 of the timpani staff, the terms “pp” (pianissimo) and “Solo” encode the abbreviation for Psalm as an acrostic anagram. The timpanist plays six Gs over the span of four bars, generating a coded version of chapter 46. This solution is bolstered by the sixth G in measure 86 which is the 46th bar of the movement. This sixth G is followed in bar 87 by the notes F, B, and E performed as ascending fourths by the first violins and violas in octaves. Those three notes are an anagram of “EFB”, the initials of Ein feste Burg.
The directions “pp” and “Solo” in bar 93 of the flute staff generate “pS” as an acrostic anagram. These same terms appear in bar 95 of the clarinet staff. The number 46 is suggested by the pairing of those terms because “Solo” has four letters and “pp” brings the overall total to six.
The chord in bar 94 is a C minor triad (C/E-flat/G) with an added sixth (A). The positioning of this added sixth chord on the fourth degree of the G minor scale furnishes the numerals necessary to spell 46. The C minor added sixth chord in bar 94 is followed by an E-flat major triad in bar 95. C is the fourth scale degree in G minor, and E-flat is the sixth. This chord progression from a C minor added sixth to E-flat major encodes another set of numerals that, when combined, form 46. The two E-flats in bars 94 and 95 of the viola staff suggest a coded version of Elgar’s initials (EE).
Summation
It is widely acknowledged that Elgar was an accomplished cryptographer with a lifelong interest in that esoteric discipline. His expertise in that field accounts for why the Enigma Variations are permeated by scores of ciphers. These diverse cryptograms encode specific and definitive answers to the riddles posed by that breakout symphonic work. The covert principal Theme is Luther’s Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress), a hymn inspired by Psalm 46. The title of the second variation encodes the acrostic anagrams “Hide Psalm” and “I hid Psalm.” The precise chapter from the Psalms is divulged by the number of periods (4) and letters (6) in the published title as well as by that movement’s 46-second duration.
Performance terms in the first bar of the second variation also generate an acrostic anagram of “Psalm.” This cipher relies on the first letters of p[iano], stacc., Allegro, and the 3 from the time signature that may be rotated to resemble a cursive M. This flexible treatment of the 3 glyph is shown in the Dorabella Cipher where Elgar reorients that character to resemble an E, 3, and M. Chapter 46 is encoded by the total of all of the characters in the performance terms deployed in bar 41. That same sum is also produced by adding the bar number (41) to the Rehearsal number (5). Such redundancies serve as confirmation of the authenticity of these mutually supportive cryptograms.
Performance directions in the second variation encipher seven abbreviations of Psalm (Ps) as acrostic anagrams. These ciphers use the same encoding technique seen with the Mendelssohn quotations in Variation XIII. These coded abbreviations appear in the staves of the first violin (bar 41), second violins (bar 43), cellos and contrabasses (bar 58), timpani (bar 83), flute (bar 93), and clarinet (bar 95). In bar 87, the first violins and violas play three notes in octaves — F, B, and E — which anagrammatize the initials of Ein feste Burg. The number 46 accompanies these coded abbreviations of Psalm in bars 41, 43, 93, and 95. The added sixth chord on the fourth scale degree of G minor in bar 94 encodes the numerals 4 and 6. The chord progression in bars 94 and 95 also encodes the numbers 4 and 6. Two E-flats in the accompaniment of bars 94-95 suggest a coded version of Elgar’s initials (EE).
The reluctance of legacy scholars to acknowledge or study Elgar's pioneering use of cryptography in his works is both a genuine enigma and a blessing in disguise. The more they delay devoting precious time and attention to this burgeoning field of study, the more opportunities for discovery remain the exclusive domain of independent researchers like myself. 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.
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