Six 6-Letter Names and Elgar's 6-by-6 Box Cipher

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. 

Edward Elgar in the 1899 program note for the Enigma Variations 

There are six names in the Enigma Variations with one remarkable thing in common – each has six letters (Table 1.1). Elgar’s initials for Variation XIV (E. D. U.) come from the German spelling of his first name (Eduard)which is one of those six-letter names. In Table 1.1, the missing letters needed to complete Eduard are italicized. Discounting these three missing letters produces a name grid with 33 letters, the numerological mirror image of Elgar’s initials (EE). Including the missing letters yields 36 letters, the same as the opus number for the Variations. The subtitle for Variation XIV is Finale, a title that, like Eduard, also possesses six letters. The remaining six-letter names found in the Variations are Enigma, Ysobel, Troyte, and Nimrod. 

Could it be just a coincidence that Elgar supplied within the Variations six names that are each six letters long? Is it sheer happenstance that the opus number of the Variations is 36, the product of 6 multiplied by 6? That the word “saying” is six letters in length? Or that the sum of the Roman numerals for movements with six-letter titles (VI, VII, IX, and XIV) is also 36? One coincidence is possible. Two are unlikely. Three or more points to something calculated and deliberate. Elgar was trying to tell us something by using six-letter names in six different instances interspersed throughout the Enigma Variations. It is suspected that the reason for this is the close connection between the number six and the key to his enigmatic “dark saying” mentioned in the original 1899 program note: A 6-by-6 Polybius Box Cipher. As an aside, the association of the note letters E and F in the box cipher key is all but sealed by the pairing of the first letter from Elgar’s initials (E. D. U.) with the first letter from that movement’s subtitle, Finale. These same letters also happen to be the first two in the German acronym for the covert Principal Theme: Ein feste Burg. 

Compiling a list in program order of the Variations’ six-letter names and titles forms the equivalent of a 6 by 6 checkerboard grid (Table 1.1). More intriguingly, a comparison of Elgar’s Box Cipher Table with the name grid turns up some remarkable parallels. For instance, four letters in the box cipher table are exact matches with those in the name grid: T, R, E, and I. These corresponding letters are highlighted in Table 1.2 with corresponding cells shown in Table 1.2a.  

Theses matching letters are an anagram of the word rite, a term closely associated with Roman Catholicism. Rite is also a homonym of right, as in the right solution. In addition to four exact letter matches, there are six matching solution letters from the cipher table located in adjacent cells within the name grid: S, G, B, S, F, and O. These contiguous matching letters are highlighted in Table 1.3 with matching adjacent cipher cells shown in Table 1.3a. 

Besides exact matches and adjacent matching cells, there are two matching letters in identical rows as shown Tables 1.4 and 1.4a: N and U. 

This leaves only two remaining letters from Elgar’s box cipher unaccounted for, the duplicate letters S and G located in the sixth and final row. As both are duplicates, there are other adjacent matching cells in the name grid for these letters as shown in Tables 1.3 and 1.3a. 

The numerous and intriguing parallels between the name grid and cipher table are not limited to letter matches within identical cells, adjacent cells, or identical rows. There is also the phenomenon of letter clustering in which certain letters are found grouped together. For example, the letters g and b are in adjacent cells in both the name grid and cipher table. The sixth column of the cipher table contains the letters e, o, and s, and these same three letters are strung together diagonally in the name grid. The letters u, f, and i are contiguous in both the name grid and cipher table, and the same holds true for the letters t, r, s, and i. These observations are summarized in Tables 1.5 and 1.5a.

The title Ein feste Burg may be assembled from 12 letters in the name grid (Table 1.6), leaving an astonishing array of anagram solutions for the remaining 24: nimayoeloytmrodedardinal. 

While the vast majority of these anagrams are utter nonsense, a rare few stand out. One example is “An ordained morality melody,” an apt description for Martin Luther’s epic hymn, A Mighty Fortress. Another possible anagram solution is “Iy, Edoo, adrn a Martin L melody.” The personal pronoun I is phonetically rendered as Iy. Edoo was Alice’s pet name for Elgar realized phonetically in the title of Variation XIV as E. D. U. The word adorn is spelled phonetically as “adrn.” This alternate anagram may be read as “I, Edoo, adorn a Martin L melody.” A series of variations is one convincing way to adorn a melody. The phonetic spelling of I as Iy may allude to Elgar’s personal identification with the military, specifically as an Imperial Yeoman. “Martin L” turns up as part of another anagram, this one obtained from Maeterlinck, the only name Elgar mentions in the original 1899 program note for the Variations. The name grid may be viewed as one complete anagram that reads “I, Edoo, adorn a Martin L melody.” The absent Theme is Luther's rousing hymn Ein feste Burg. The reader is encouraged to attempt other prospective anagram solutions and share them in the comments section. 

The numbers 6 and 24 are intimately linked to Elgar’s Enigma Variations. For example, the complete six-word title in German for the covert Principal Theme is 24 letters long: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. A similar pattern exists with the Enigma Theme as there are 24 melody notes in the first six measures. These first six measures are cordoned off by an oddly placed double bar containing Elgar’s “dark saying” in the form of an ingenious 6-by-6 musical checkerboard cipher. In conclusion, a careful consideration of the parallels between Elgar’s box cipher table and the name grid provides powerful circumstantial evidence that he deliberately used six six-letter names in the Variations to hint at the nature and construction of his music cryptogram. To learn more about the secrets of the Enigma Variations, read my free eBook Elgar’s Enigmas Exposed. Please support my original research by becoming a sponsor on Patreon.

Soli Yah Gloria

Variation VI (Ysobel) with "Ein feste Burg"

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.

Miklós Rózsa

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 hymn’s canonical phrase structure (ABCDEFB) unfolds across Variation VI in the sequence ABABCDEFB — nine phrases in all, with the opening AB pair repeated before proceeding through Phrases C to F and closing with a final statement of Phrase B. As with each variation, Elgar subtly varies the hymn’s phrase structure from movement to movement, a strategy that serves to confuse and camouflage the hidden counterpoint from casual detection. The ability to map both the notes and phrases of Ein feste Burg in their correct sequential order across the full extent of Variation VI constitutes compelling evidence of a deliberate and systematic counterpoint.

The phrases of Ein feste Burg mapped over Variation VI come from three contrasting versions of the hymn to form a tribrid melody. This pattern is likewise observed in the contrapuntal mappings of the chorale with the Enigma Theme, Variations I, II, III, IV, and V. Phrases A, B, E, 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 Bach’s version and Mendelssohn’s distinct adaptation from the Finale of the Reformation Symphony, whose melodic contour aligns with Bach’s. Phrase D follows the pattern of Luther's original version, which Bach faithfully preserved in his rendering, and which Mendelssohn likewise retained. Phrase E mirrors the melodic contours of Bach’s Phrase F transposed a third higher into the Phrase E register. 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 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 hymn's correct phrase order without reordering, compression, or omission. While the sequence of phrases remains inviolate, Elgar subtly varies the hymn’s repetition scheme from movement to movement — which phrases recur, and in what number — a strategy that serves to confuse and camouflage the hidden counterpoint from casual detection. The dormant final bar (209) is not a weakness in the mapping but an intentional feature — the seam of a carefully constructed musical disguise, marking the boundary of the counterpoint without disclosing it, consistent with the strategic deployment of dormant measures observed in Variations II, III, IV, and V. As with the Enigma Theme and Variations I through V, the phrases mapped across Variation VI are threefold in origin, drawn from three distinct historical settings of the hymn: Luther’s original, Bach’s rendering in Cantata BWV 80, and Mendelssohn’s treatment in the Reformation Symphony. Elgar’s blending of phrases from three versions of the hymn multiplies the difficulty of detection, for no single historical setting of Ein feste Burg accounts for every mapped phrase.

The melodic and harmonic conjunctions, the integrity of the phrase structure, and the strategic deployment of the dormant measure 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.

Soli Yah Gloria