Saturday music spot: J. S. Bach's "Great" fugue in G minor (BWV 542/2)

Philip and Janet, two friends of mine who studied music, once told me that they and their friends at college sang Johann Sebastian Bach's "Great" fugue (see Youtube clip below) to words about Ebenezer Prout, who had arranged this and many other Bach fugues, They went something like this, 

"Oh Ebenezer Prout, 
You are a clever man 
'Cause you make Bach fugues as easy as you can, 
'Cause you make Bach fugues as easy as you ca - a - a - a - an!" 

I always remember those words when I hear it played and I had understood this was a reference to Prout's arrangements. It turns out that there is more to the story than I had realised. 

I learned today that those who included Prout's name in comic lyrics to Bach fugues were effectively turning the tables on him for inventing humorous titles to a number of Bach pieces, such as the contents of Bachs "Well tempered Clavier" musical anthology, which were otherwise known only by a number, the key signature of the piece, or a combination.

These titles, which had in common that most of them could be sung to the tune of the piece concerned,  range from the descriptive through the whimsical to the downright weird and a century later many of the cultural references are quite hard to follow. 

Some people find them very funny.

Others - do not.

Here are two examples:
  1. A little three-part fugue, which a gentleman named Bach composed, there's a lot of triple counterpoint about it, and it isn't very difficult to play.
  2. Sir Augustus Harris tried to mix a pound of treacle with a pint of castor oil.
You can find some more here.

I have also found a number of alternative versions of the lyrics which take the mickey out of Prout's words for Bach pieces. For example the composer Hubert Parry, author of "Blest Pair of Sirens" and "I was glad." wrote

Old Ebenezer Prout is a very clever man,
but he can't write fugues like John Sebastian ...   

Other versions of the lyric to the Great Fugue similar to the one Philip and Janet told me about include the following:

"Old Ebenezer Prout, you are a funny man,
What on earth inspired your silly little plan,
To make all Bach's fugues as nasty as you can."

On that note, let's listen to the actual Bach Fugue ... 

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