The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: You must hear this – a Bach-style fugue based on the “covfefe” Tweet of President Donald Trump

By Jacob Stockinger

Insulting and controversial Tweets by President Donald Trump (below, in a photo by Getty Images)  are often the talk of the Internet.

But one of the latest ones has gone viral and set the web afire with speculation.

That’s because the meaning of the word “covfefe” that he uses is cryptic.

Many people think it means press “coverage,” and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says a small group of insiders know exactly what the President means—although he won’t say what that is.

Many other people also wonder if the mysterious word is really just a typo or mistake from sleep deprivation instead of a deliberate code.

In any case, one person — Peter Underhill — decided right away to make it the subject of occasional music, of a Baroque-like fughetta composed in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Here it is, played thanks to the Guildhall School of Music in London and the help of postgraduate piano student and Michigan native Jason Gong:

http://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/donald-trumps-convfefe-fugue/?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

Do you think the fugue is composed in the spirit of praise?

Or jest and satire?

The Ear wants to hear.