Enigma variations - Edward Elgar (deel III)

[postlink]http://dagendauwsnotenbalk.blogspot.com/2011/09/enigma-variations-edward-elgar-13-15.html[/postlink]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbocgV_QYEkendofvid [starttext] N° 12 - 14

XII. B.G.N. (andante; 0:00), Basil G. Nevinson, a well-known cellist, who gets a cello melody for his variation, just like in the Ysobel variation, where viola was used for the violist.

XIII. Romance (moderato; 2:35). Because of the lack of initials, the identity of the person is unclear and remains an enigma within the Enigma. However, the music includes a quotation from Felix Mendelssohn's concert overture "Calm sea and prosperous voyage" which leads to speculation that it depicts either Lady Mary Lygon, local noblewoman on a voyage to Australia at the time, or Helen Weaver, who was Elgar's fiancée before she emigrated to New Zealand in 1884. At certain intervals, the timpani create a sound reminiscent of a ship's engines, by means of hard sticks or, traditionally, coins. Interestingly enough, the melody is varied several times within the variation, possibly to symbolize Elgar's conflicting emotions towards the person depicted, though the variation returns at the very end to the serenity of the beginning.



XIV. E.D.U. (allegro presto; 5:23), Elgar himself, "Edu" being his wife's nickname for him. This heartily extroverted, even boisterous, finale ties together the first variation and the Nimrod themes, as though to suggest that the composer has taken advice to heart and is determined to succeed. The entry of an organ in the final measures brings the work to a confident, happy close. The original variation No. 14 is 100 bars shorter than the version now usually played. In July 1899, one month after the original version was finished, Jaeger, from variation No. 9, urged Elgar to make the variation a little longer. Elgar eventually agreed, and added an organ part. [endtext]

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