Hunting for Hidden Friends in Elgar's Enigma Variations: Variation IX "Nimrod"
The Best Moments
Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36
I'm Edward Elgar, and here I present the best moments of Enigma Variations: Variation IX "Nimrod". You'll hear how a hushed, slow melody swells into the emotional heart of the whole work, written in memory of a friend who kept me from giving up. My fellow composers and I also teach you, on this site, to recognize our pieces when you hear them, so come and test yourself in the Trainer .
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A Slow Start with Nobody in a Hurry
I mark the opening Adagio, which is a polite musical way of saying that nobody should rush, and the strings begin so softly that you might wonder whether they've started at all. The first bars are shaped to suggest a Beethoven tune, but I'll tell anyone who asks that it's only a hint and not a quotation, so please don't accuse me of borrowing.
The Friend Who Wouldn't Let Me Quit
I let the melody rise gently from there, with more and more instruments joining in, and that is the part where the piece turns into a story about my friend August Jaeger. He worked for my publisher Novello & Co., and when I was low and nearly ready to give up composing, he reminded me that Beethoven kept writing despite his troubles, which is why I call it the story of a conversation and not just a portrait.
A Name with a Pun Hiding in It
I called the variation "Nimrod" after the mighty hunter of the Old Testament, because Jäger is simply the German word for hunter, and that was as far as my joke went. The music swells to its great peak and then sinks back into stillness, and it's now played at funerals and every year at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, which is a lot to ask of a tribute to a man I called a stern critic.
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I hope you enjoyed learning about the best moments of Enigma Variations: Variation IX "Nimrod". When I look back on this variation, I think of it as a quiet thank-you to a friend who stood by me when I needed it most. August Jaeger called me back to my work with a few honest words, and I've never forgotten that. I'm glad the music still speaks to people who never knew either of us. There is still more to discover about Enigma Variations: Variation IX "Nimrod". You could explore how the other variations paint my friends, or how the puzzle behind the theme has stayed unsolved, even though I never said a word to settle it. If you'd like to keep going, please click on the links provided and carry on exploring Enigma Variations: Variation IX "Nimrod". Listen once more, perhaps on a quiet evening, and see what you notice this time.