Ebenezer Prout


Ebenezer Prout was an English musical theorist, writer, music teacher and composer, whose instruction, afterwards embodied in a series of standard works still used today, underpinned the work of many British classical musicians of succeeding generations.

Early career

Prout was born in Oundle on 1 March 1835. His father was a clergyman and he was the nephew of the water-colour painter Samuel Prout. His father taught him music and he studied piano under Charles Salaman, but was otherwise self-taught. He attended the University of London intending a career as a scholar, but chose to follow one in music through his love of it.
From 1861 to 1873 he was Organist of the Union Chapel, Islington. From 1861 to 1885 he was Professor of the Piano at the Crystal Palace School of Art. He was awarded first prizes for a string quartet and a pianoforte quartet by the Society of British Musicians. Between 1871 and 1874 he was Editor of the Monthly Musical Record, and between 1874 and 1879 music critic for the Academy. In 1863 he was one of the first twenty-one members of the Royal College of Organists.
From 1876 to 1882 Prout taught on the faculty of the National Training School of Music. In 1879 he was appointed Professor of Harmony and Composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and became music critic of the Athenaeum. In 1884 he became a professor at the Guildhall School of Music, London. In 1894 he was appointed Professor of Music at Trinity College Dublin, being awarded an honorary Mus.Doc. the following year. During this period he not only trained his students but delivered memorable public lecture series, notably one on the Bach cantatas illustrated by singers he had trained.

Theory

Also to this period belong his principal theoretical works, many of which became standard text books and were translated into multiple languages. In 1877 he contributed a text on instrumentation to Novello's series of music primers. Then came a series of treatises, including Harmony, its Theory and Practice, which reached a twenty-fourth edition, Counterpoint, Strict and Free, which ran to nine editions, Fugue, and The Orchestra.
Prout produced editions of many of the classics, not least the Handel oratorios. He was directly connected with the rediscovery of the original wind parts for Messiah, from which new full and vocal scores were introduced by him to the Royal Society of Musicians in 1902. As an editor, Prout reflected the practices of his own time in that he felt justified in replacing Handel's phrasing and expression marks with his own preferences. In this respect Prout differed from his contemporary Friedrich Chrysander, who was the first to produce an edition attempting to convey the composer's own intentions.
Prout is also remembered for fitting whimsical words to the main subjects of J. S. Bach's fugues, and in particular all of the fugues from Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues.

Composition

For a period, Prout was regarded as one of the most promising English composers. He produced four symphonies between 1867 and 1886, and a series of dramatic cantatas, commissions from the Birmingham, Norwich and Bristol Festivals. Other choral works were written for his local choir, the Hackney Choral Association, and given under the composer's direction at prominent venues in London. Among several performances at the Crystal Palace, London, the Organ Concerto in E minor was performed by John Stainer in 1871. He also composed orchestral overtures, chamber music and instrumental sonatas, such as the Clarinet Sonata in D. The Concertante Duet in A major for piano and harmonium, written in 1872 and published by Augener in 1900, achieved particular popularity.
His music generally secured good reviews:
By 1891, Prout's musical style had come to be regarded as outmoded: following the first performance of his Suite de Ballet the Musical Times thought that
In a modern survey of Prout's symphonic works, Jürgen Schaarwächter judged that

Last years

Although performances of his works greatly diminished towards the close of the nineteenth century, the occasional concert included his music: on 30 December 1897, at Bournemouth, Dan Godfrey played the Symphony No.3. Among Prout's many students were Arthur Thomas, Eugen d'Albert, John Waterhouse, Henry Wood, Ethel Barns and Edward German. He died at Hackney, London, on 5 December 1909, and was buried at Abney Park Cemetery.

Personal life

Prout married Julia West in 1861, and they lived at 246 Richmond Road, Hackney. There were five children: Florence, Louis Beethoven, Edith Julia, Alice and Alice Ellen. Louis Beethoven was a writer on musical theory, having trained under his father at the Royal Academy, and becoming professor at the Guildhall School. Louis Beethoven Prout's principal works are an Analysis of Bach's 48 Fugues ; Harmonic Analysis ; Sidelights on Harmony ; and Time, Rhythm and Expression. Like his sister Alice Ellen, he was also an entomologist, being a foremost authority on the Geometridae, or geometer moths.
His obituary in The Musical Times noted that:

Works

Operetta

  • 1883 – ''Love and Taxation''

    Incidental music

  • 1862 – ''The Doom of Devorgoil''

    Orchestral

  • 1867 – Symphony No.1 in C
  • 1876 – Symphony No.2 in G Minor
  • 1878 – Minuet and Trio for orchestra, Op.14
  • 1878 – Suite in D
  • 1881 – Twelfth Night, overture
  • 1885 – Symphony No.3 in F, Op.22
  • 1886 – Symphony No.4 in D
  • 1889 – Rokeby, overture
  • 1891 – Suite de Ballet in E, Op.28
  • 1906 – Suite for small orchestra, Op.33

    Solo instrumentalist and orchestra

  • 1870 – Organ Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.5
  • 1885 – Organ Concerto No.2 in E flat major, Op.35
  • Clarinet Concerto in B flat

    Choral and vocal

  • 1857 – Requiem Mass
  • 1875 – Magnificat for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, Op.7
  • 1875 – Evening Service in E flat for solo quartet, chorus, orchestra and organ, Op.8
  • 1876 – Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in F, Op.9
  • 1876 – When the Lord turned, anthem, Op.27
  • 1877 – Hail to the Chief for chorus and orchestra, Op.10
  • 1877 – Happy is the man, anthem, Op.11
  • 1878 – Hereward, cantata, Op.12
  • 1879 – Morning and Evening Service in F, Op.13
  • 1882 – Alfred, cantata, Op.16
  • 1884 – Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D, Op.19
  • 1884 – Arise, shine, anthem
  • 1885 – Freedom, ode for baritone soloist, chorus and orchestra, Op.20
  • 1885 – Queen Aimée, or The Maiden's Crown, cantata for female voices and piano, Op.21
  • 1886 – O be joyful in the Lord for soprano solo, chorus, orchestra and organ, Op.23
  • 1887 – The Red Cross Knight, cantata, Op.24
  • 1889 – Damon and Phintias, cantata for male voices and orchestra, Op.25
  • 1891 – When the Lord turned for soli, chorus and orchestra, Op.27
  • 1891 – Behold, my servant, anthem
  • 1895 – We give Thee Thanks, O Lord God Almighty, anthem for eight voices, Op.29
  • 1899 – Jesu dulcis memoria, chorus for female voices, Op.31
  • 1905 – Salve Regina for female chorus and orchestra, Op.34

    Vocal soloist and orchestra

  • 1887 – The Song of Judith, scena for contralto soloist and orchestra

    Chamber works

  • 1860 – Piano Quintet in G, Op.3
  • 1862 – String Quartet No.1 in E flat, Op.1
  • 1865 – Piano Quartet No.1 in C, Op.2
  • 1870 – Romance in F for viola and piano, Op.32
  • 1872 – Duo Concertante in A for piano and harmonium, Op.6
  • 1881 – String Quartet No.2 in B flat, Op.15
  • 1882 – Sonata for flute and piano, Op.17
  • 1882 – Sonata in D for clarinet and piano, Op.26
  • 1883 – Piano Quartet No.2 in F, Op.18

    Instrumental works

  • 1870 – Postlude in C minor for organ
  • Organ Sonata, Op.4

    Scores and manuscripts

Many works by Prout were published. Several autograph scores are missing.

Published

  • Addison, Hollier & Lucas, London, published a set of parts for String Quartet No.1.
  • Augener & Co., London, published the full score and a piano duet arrangement of the Minuet and Trio, the full score of Organ Concerto No.1, the full score of the Suite de Ballet, the full score and a piano score of the Triumphal March from Alfred, the vocal score of Alfred and We give Thee Thanks, O Lord God Almighty, together with scores and sets of parts for String Quartet No.2, the Piano Quintet, Piano Quartet No.1 and Piano Quartet No.2, the Organ Sonata, the Duo Concertante and the Clarinet Sonata.
  • Novello, Ewer & Co., London, published the full orchestral score and a piano duet arrangement of Symphony No.3, together with vocal scores of Hereward, Freedom, Queen Aimée, O be joyful in the Lord, The Red Cross Knight and Damon and Phintias.
  • Stanley Lucas, Weber & Co, London, issued the full score of the Magnificat, Op.7, circa 1876.
  • Vincent Music Co., London, published the full score of Organ Concerto No.2 together with a piano score of the Suite for small orchestra and vocal scores of Salve Regina and Jesu Dulcis memoria.

    Autograph

  • The autograph full scores of both versions of Symphony No.1 are held by the Library of Trinity College Dublin together with autograph scores of Organ Concerto No.1, String Quartet No.1, Piano Quartet No.1, The Doom of Devergoil and the Salve Regina.
  • The full score of Symphony No.2 is at Cambridge University Library together with String Quartet No.1 and String Quartet No.2.
  • The full score of Symphony No.3 is at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
  • The full score of Symphony No.4 is held by Queen's College, Oxford where the first performance took place on 4 June 1886.
  • The full score of the Minuet and Trio is held by the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
  • Autograph full orchestral scores of Hail to the Chief, Freedom, O be joyful in the Lord and The Red Cross Knight are held by the Library of the Royal College of Music, London.
  • The full score of Damon and Phintias is at the British Library, London.
  • The full score of the Clarinet Concerto is held by the Library of the Royal Academy of Music, London.