Sir Edward William Elgar (1857 – 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius, chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924.

Although Elgar is often regarded as a typically English composer, most of his musical influences were not from England but from continental Europe. He felt himself to be an outsider, not only musically, but socially. In musical circles dominated by academics, he was a self-taught composer; in Protestant Britain, his Roman Catholicism was regarded with suspicion in some quarters; and in the class-conscious society of Victorian and Edwardian Britain, he was acutely sensitive about his humble origins even after he achieved recognition. He nevertheless married the daughter of a senior British Army officer. She inspired him both musically and socially, but he struggled to achieve success until his forties, when after a series of moderately successful works his Enigma Variations (1899) became immediately popular in Britain and overseas. He followed the Variations with a choral work, The Dream of Gerontius (1900), based on a Roman Catholic text that caused some disquiet in the Anglican establishment in Britain, but it became, and has remained, a core repertory work in Britain and elsewhere. His later full-length religious choral works were well received but have not entered the regular repertory.

"Lux Aeterna" by Edward Elgar is a choral arrangement of "Nimrod" from his Enigma Variations. The title translates to "eternal light" in Latin. The piece was arranged by John Cameron. The profound beauty and reflective nature of ‘Nimrod’, from the English composer’s Enigma Variations, have made it a favourite among those seeking a moment of serenity. Its fluctuating dynamics, unresolved tension and soaring main theme make it one of the rare pieces that lends itself equally poignantly to weddings and funerals.

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam
dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua leceat eis.
May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord, with Thy saints forever,
for Thou art Kind.
Eternal rest
give to them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar)

Although originally scored for Double Chorus (SSAATTBB), I created this arrangement of "Lux Aeterna" (Opus 35 Variation IX) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, French Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello) & Piano.