Search - Elgar - Elgar's Enigma / Enigma Variations, Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra on DVD

A Loving Documentary and Performance of 'Enigma Variations'

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 06/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If there is a more quintessential British composer than Elgar, I don't know who it is. And if there is a more quintessential work by Elgar than his 'Enigma Variations' the same holds true. Here we have, with Sir Andrew Davis conducting the BBC Symphony, not only a fine performance of the work, but also a documentary about the piece itself featuring Davis who tells us much about each of the people who inspired the individual variations while wandering about the beautiful Malvern Hills, Elgar's home, the Worcester Cathedral and environs. He elucidates the nature of the relationships between Elgar and his subjects. Periodically there are appropriate short film clips from the early years of the twentieth century including some of the composer himself. There is a particularly amusing clip, skillfully synchronized with the music, featuring several dogs running and jumping into a brook and back out again, while Davis talks about Elgar's friend G. R. Sinclair's bulldog, Dan.

Separate from the documentary section, the uninterrupted performance takes place in the grand space of the Worcester Cathedral whose warm acoustic lends a lovely aural patina to the performance. One feels positively Edwardian in its sonic embrace. At the beginning of each variation there is a black-and-white photograph of the person whom the variation depicts. And, of course, for the variation entitled 'G.R.S.' (organist George Robertson Sinclair) a picture of Dan is shown.

There are tracks for each of the variations and the booklet contains a brief paragraph about each of the 'friends pictured within.' Davis touches briefly on the putative 'secret theme' mentioned by Elgar, but dismisses it as an insoluble puzzle whose solution makes little difference in the long run. Sound is in either LPCM stereo or DTS surround sound. Subtitles for the English narration of the documentary are in German, French, Italian, Spanish and English. TT 85 minutes.

A delightful DVD.

Scott Morrison"

Andrew Davis and the Elgar Enigma Variations

Harold J. Diamond | NY | 08/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Since I teach a course in English music of the 19th and 20th centuries, this dvd came as a true boon. Andrew Davis'commentary on the "friends pictured within" and the composition of the work along with musical examples are splendid. The only negative I can come up with is the attempt to "bridge the gap" of 100 years by using actors in spots doing skits that were meant to interpret the music. This seemed an unworthy effort of a production that speaks for itself quite well. One portion of the dvd is commentary with music; the other a full performance in Elgar's Worcester Cathedral. There is also some historic footage of Elgar with his dogs. This is an absolute must for those interested in this landmark work."