Elgar: Enigma Variations (op36)
Compared to Rachmaninoff, Bach and Beethoven, Elgar probably is not so famous. But his Enigma Variations is quite interesting. It consists of 14 pieces, each of which describes a friend or an aquatint of him. The music is named using the initials of that person, e.g., the famous C.A.E is for his wife, who is also his life time advisor. When writing Enigma Variations, he was portraying who their friends are and how they amuse themselves. See the following excepts from the music notes distributed by the Des Moines Symphony:
“utilizes the high and low woodwinds to portray the distinctive voice of Richard Baxter Townsen”
“reflects the frequently changing moods of Richard Penrose Arnol”
“denotes the charm and grace of Miss Winifred Norbury.”
“this Variation is a record of a long summer evening talk”
“a young friend hesitant of conversation and fluttering of manner.”
“the music suggests the dog’s rushing about the bank and paddling in the water”
“was written while Lady Mary Lygon was on a sea journey. The solo clarinet quotes a phrase from Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture and the hollow sound of the timpani played with wooden sticks suggests the distant rumble of ship’s engines”
The stories are so diverse and real. Elgar was living in the country side of England when he composed this piece, so from the music, you can hear the beautiful landscapes and the nature of wind and lightening. The deployment of the instruments in this orchestral piece very accurately reflect the characters explained above; you almost can visualize them when you close your eyes.
This piece is quite light to my taste, it says “life is beautiful, peaceful, weekends there are friends visiting from time to time, you smell fragrance of the grasses…” I probably like more intense, dramatic, painful, serious, chaotic, emotional pieces like Rachmaninoff’s, you sometimes feel you just … cannot hold it …