[+] Van Houten, Theodore. "'You of All People': Elgar's Enigma." The Music Review 37 (1976): 130-42.
A complex of musical and textual riddles, as well as biographical evidence, points to Thomas Arne's Rule, Britannia! as the hidden theme of Elgar's Enigma Variations, and thus to Britannia as the "enigma" figure. Alexander Pope's To a Lady may have served as a model for Elgar in its general conception, and specific passages from Pope's Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot correspond with individual variations.
Works: Elgar: Enigma Variations (130-42).
Sources: Thomas Arne: Rule, Britannia! from Alfred (130, 132-33, 135, 139-40); Mendelssohn: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt (132).
Index Classifications: 1800s
Contributed by: Virginia Whealton
