Moved to Tears

by Frances Wilson , Interlude

Music has the power to tug at the heartstrings, and evoking emotion is the main purpose of music – whether it’s joy or sadness, excitement or meditation. A certain melody or line of a song, a falling phrase, the delayed gratification of a resolved harmony – all these factors make music interesting, exciting, calming, pleasurable and moving.

Tears and chills – or “tingles” – on hearing music are a physiological response which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, as well as the reward-related brain regions of the brain. Studies have shown that around 25% of the population experience this reaction to music. But it’s much more than a pure physiological response. Classical music in particular steers a mysterious path through our senses, triggering unexpected and powerful emotional responses, which sometimes result in tears – and not just tears of sadness.

Tears flow spontaneously in response to a release of tension, perhaps at the end of a particularly engrossing performance. Certain pieces of music can remind us of past events, experiences and people, triggering memories and associated emotions. At other times, we may feel tearfully awestruck in the face of the greatness or sheer beauty of the music.

This last response has a name – Stendhal Syndrome – and while the syndrome is more commonly associated with art, it can be applied equally to the powerful emotional reaction which music provokes.

A psychosomatic disorder, Stendhal Syndrome, or hyperkulturemia, causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, sweating, disorientation, fainting, tears and confusion when someone is looking at artwork (or hearing a piece of music) with which he or she connects emotionally on a profound level. The phenomenon, also called ‘Florence Syndrome’, is named after the French author Marie-Henri Beyle , who wrote under the pen-name of ‘Stendhal’. While visiting the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, he became overcome with emotion and noted his reactions:

“I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty … I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations … Everything spoke so vividly to my soul.”

While there is some debate as to whether the syndrome actually exists, there is no doubt that music (and art and literature) can have a very profound effect on our emotional responses.

Certain pieces are well-known tear-jerkers, including:

Mahler: Adagio from Symphony No. 9 in D
Schubert: Winterreise

Personal tragedy portrayed in hauntingly beautiful music. 

Elgar: Cello Concerto

Wistful soaring melodies and a sense of hope and anguish, particularly in the final movement, this is Elgar’s tragic masterpiece. 

Allegri: Miserere

Ethereal chords combined with plainchant, the exquisite simplicity and beauty of this music is guaranteed to set the tears flowing. 

Rachmaninoff: Slow movement, Piano Concerto No. 2

Put simply, this is sublimely beautiful music.

Young composer 'solves' Elgar's Enigma ...

...  and it’s pretty convincing

Elgar's Enigma theme vs. Pergolesi's Stabat mater

Credit: Ed Newton-Rex

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

Elgar’s Enigma Variations is one of the greatest pieces of the 19th century – but people have puzzled over its hidden theme for years.

In 1899, Sir Edward Elgar wrote his beautiful Enigma Variations, that would contain one of the most moving melodies ever written (its ‘Nimrod’ theme).

But Elgar, not content with writing a beautiful piece of music, claimed to have hidden a musical puzzle deep in the heart of his Variations.

Here’s a note he left explaining the puzzle: “The Enigma I will not explain – its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the connection between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture. Further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme ‘goes’, but is not played… so, the principal Theme never appears.”

Essentially, the principal theme of the piece is never actually heard, and the ‘Enigma’ theme we do hear is just a counterpoint on the principal theme.

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934). Picture: Getty

Over the years, historians and musicologists have claimed to have solved the Enigma, but there’s never been a conclusive answer.

Now, Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and alumnus of the Choir of King’s College Cambridge, claims to have cracked the code.

The hidden theme in the Enigma Variations, he claims, is Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, a haunting piece of choral music from the 18th century.

“I started thinking about what I’d write if tasked with writing a counter-melody to the opening theme, improvising things that worked well with it,” Newton-Rex writes in an essay on his theory. “Almost immediately what I was writing reminded me of something: Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.” 

When the two pieces are played alongside each other (and when Stabat Mater is transposed up a tone), the fit is “pretty astounding”, Newton-Rex writes.

Why has no one figured this out before?

The mistake musicologists have made before, Newton-Rex argues, is expecting the new ‘phrase’ to fit perfectly over the top of the fully-scored Enigma Variations.

“But this isn’t how Elgar said the counterpoint should work,” he says.

In an interview with the Musical Times in 1900, Elgar clarified the nature of the ‘Enigma’: “Mr Elgar tells us that the heading Enigma is justified by the fact that it is possible to add another phrase, which is quite familiar, above the original theme that he has written.”

Elgar further clarifies this in his 1905 biography: “The theme is a counterpoint on some well-known melody which is never heard.”

So the ‘Enigma’ theme is a counterpoint on the hidden melody – not the other way around. This means that the ‘Enigma’ theme should fit over the top of the hidden melody.

Why Stabat Mater?

Firstly, Stabat Mater was the most frequently published piece of music of the 18th century. It had already been popular for a long time before Elgar started composing – so he undoubtedly knew of the piece, and was aware of its popularity.

When played alongside all the vocal parts of Stabat Mater, the ‘Enigma’ theme fits perfectly over the harmonies, Newton-Rex argues. Plus, it fits well over just the Stabat Mater’s characteristic bass line, and matches the six-bar length of the choral piece.

Stabat Mater also involves a “dark saying”, matching up with Elgar’s original description.

“The subject matter of the Stabat mater — the crucifixion — provides a compelling reason Elgar would have chosen to refer to it this way,” argues Newton-Rex, co-founder of the AI music composition company Jukedeck.

Picture: Ed Newton-Rex

Which other pieces have been proposed?

Over the years, historians and musicologists have suggested a number of ‘perfect fits’ for the Enigma theme, including Rule Britannia, Beethoven’s ‘Pathétique’ Sonata and, curiously, the number Pi. However, Newton-Rex dismisses these proposals, saying none of them fit perfectly over the whole of the Enigma theme.

“Rule Britannia is in the major where the Enigma theme is in the minor, and [...] if you try the whole of Rule Britannia with the Enigma theme it doesn’t work at all.”

What has the response been like?

Newton-Rex told Classic FM: “The response I’ve had to this theory has been great – some people seem convinced, and even those for whom the jury is still out seem to think there’s merit to it.

“Most importantly, though, people who have come across it from outside the world of classical music have told me they went and listened to the Enigma Variations for the first time as a result – and I think there can be no better outcome than getting more people listening to this amazing music.”

Isata Kanneh-Mason plays Elgar's 'Chanson de Matin'

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Lost Edward Elger's Masterpiece Found ...

... in autograph book – and heard for the first time in 100 years

Lost Elgar masterpiece found in autograph book. Picture: Getty/Caters

By Helena Asprou, ClassicFM London

2K

The quintessential English composer is one of the most iconic names in classical music – and now his ‘Andante’ melody for strings has finally come to light.

Sir Edward Elgar has written some of the most spectacular pieces in classical music history – and now one of his melodies has been heard for the first time in 100 years after being found in an autograph book.

Composed in 1924, the ‘Andante’ melody had originally been scribbled by Elgar on a sheet of manuscript paper, which he signed clearly with his name.

But for more than a century, it was hidden within the pages of a small black autograph book once owned by Lydia Tabb – a Barnardo’s charity fundraiser.

Although the six-bar tune is believed to have been scored for a string quartet, experts say it could be an overture for one of Elgar’s great masterpieces.

Elgar's Nimrod – Carducci Quartet

A stunning string quartet rendition of Elgar's Enigma Variations.

Among his best-known compositions are the majestic Pomp and Circumstance Marches, the Enigma Variations, his passionate Cello Concerto and beautiful choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius.

Already boasting an incredible repertoire spanning many decades, there’s no doubt that this latest discovery from the composer is exciting news for the world of classical music.

Dating from 1923, the leather-bound book contains 69 signatures – from Prime Ministers Herbert Henry, Stanley Baldwin and Winston Churchill – as well as iconic authors HG Wells and Rudyard Kipling.

Even the likes of Charlie Chaplin, future King George VI and First World War figure, Marshal Ferdinand Foch have penned their names in the book.

Elgar's manuscript was hidden in an autograph book. Picture: Getty

Speaking about the discovery, auctioneer Richard Winterton said: “Elgar is widely regarded as one of this country's greatest ever composers. There can't be many people who don't know some of his music, even if they aren't necessarily aware that he wrote it.

“Unfolding this musical manuscript tucked away inside an autograph book – which was already loaded with impressive signatures – I could not believe what I was seeing.

“Not only is it signed and dated by Elgar but there are several lines of complicated musical notation. It was clearly a short melody, written down yet never played. Perhaps never heard aloud for almost 100 years.”

Matron Lydia Tabb, the original owner of the book, was born in 1897 and dedicated her life to fundraising for children’s charity Barnardo’s, before she passed away in 1983.

Her book of autographs is due to feature in Richard Winterton's Library Sale at The Lichfield Auction Centre in Staffordshire on 26 March 2019.

If this music gives you goosebumps ...

... you might have a special brain

By Classic FM, London

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

4K

Think of your favourite piece of music, and think about how you might react to it.

If you’re having trouble, have a listen to this spine-tingling vocal version of Elgar’s Nimrod, by Voces8:

Lux Aeterna – Elgar

Voces8 perform a stunning version of Nimrod

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Did you feel chills, a lump in your throat, or perhaps a tingling sensation on the back of your neck? Then you might have a more unique brain than you think.

A study, carried out by PHD student Matthew Sachs at the University of Southern California, has revealed that people who get chills from music might have structural differences in their brain.

The research studied 20 students, who listened to three to five pieces of music. 10 of the students admitted to feeling shivers, while the other 10 didn’t. The researchers then took brain scans of all the participants.

“[The 10 who felt shivers] have a higher volume of fibres that connect their auditory cortex to the areas associated with emotional processing, which means the two areas communicate better,” Matthew told Neuroscience News. These 10 participants also had a higher prefrontal cortex, which is involved in certain areas of understanding, like interpreting a song’s meaning (Quartz).

“People who get the chills have an enhanced ability to experience intense emotions,” Sachs said. “Right now, that’s just applied to music because the study focused on the auditory cortex. But it could be studied in different ways down the line,” he pointed out.

The study also found that people who are open to experience – as well as people who have more musical training – are more likely report strong emotional responses.

If you didn’t feel chills at the first piece, have a listen to this impromptu moment of Nordic vocal music, from Åkervinda. It might just tease out a few goosebumps...

Read more about the study here.

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