ABSTRACT
The Enigma Variations is, of course, rather more than a musical work: it is one of the few compositions by an Englishman that is regarded as an essential part of the national heritage. To be precise, Variation IX takes on the virtues of a national hymn, as which it serves on solemn days. But within the work as a whole there is an endemic quality of Englishness that is undeniable at least in its own setting.
