Nimrod (Enigma Variations, No. 9), piano arrangement
Edward Elgar · Level 4 (Intermediate) · Romantic · Piano
The most famous of the Enigma Variations (1899), a musical portrait of his friend Augustus Jaeger: a slow hymn that rises gradually to an overwhelming climax, played in the United Kingdom at great ceremonies. A piece by Edward Elgar, the great English composer of the late 19th century. E♭ major, 3/4, 43 bars (about 2 minutes), complete score.
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How to practise it
- Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
- Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
- Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
- Very slow and very legato, like a choir: hold each chord for its full value and build the crescendo across the whole piece, without reaching the fortissimo too soon. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. Triplets and other tuplets must be perfectly even: count them aloud with the metronome. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together.
More pieces by Edward Elgar
Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0