The Fulfilment of the Covenant

The Fulfilment of the Covenant
ROMANS 10.5-13

Edward Elgar was the greatest English composer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Among his many works, perhaps the best known is the Enigma Variations. As the second word of its name implies, it is a set of variations on a theme, and Elgar devised each variation in such a way as to paint a portrait, in the music, of one or other of his many friends. Indeed, he wrote a dedication to the work: ‘To my friends, pictured within’.

But the ‘Enigma’ of the title is itself enigmatic. Elgar hinted that the theme he had chosen could itself be combined with a well-known popular tune. To this day, however, there is no agreement as to what this tune might be...