Enigma Variations, Op. 36, Variation 13 ‘Moderato’ - Sir Edward Elgar

Enigma Variations, Op. 36, Variation 13 ‘Moderato’ by Sir Edward Elgar

Elgar composed his collection of 14 Enigma variations in 1899. He wrote that each variation represented a musical picture of a member of the close circle of friends the composer had. The 13th variation 'Moderato' was not officially allocated to a specific person by Elgar, however it is suspected that it refers to Lady Mary Lygon of Madresfield Court. Lady Lygon was a sponsor of the local music festival. Another possible candidate is Helen Weaver, a woman Elgar was engaged to but who broke of the engagement before leaving for New Zealand.