“The Contradiction”
is a four-part reel that is more two centuries old and which features a
fascinating musical weaving between four countries:
Since the beginning of the 20th century the
tune has been held by many fiddlers in both traditions to be a mark of the
skilled player, particularly in the ease and accuracy with one manages the
third part, where position shifts are required. This story was communicated by
accordion player Jim Coogan, who well remembers the hey-day of the Bronx Irish
musicians:
Jimmy Kelly was present in his father's Brookside Inn when a fiddler
(of not the greatest repute)
announced to [
-- “I just learned this 4- part reel in O'Niell's book; it is called the
Contradiction -- listen to it -- which John did and when it was played –
Johnny smiled, looked at the man and said: "The Contradiction? – the
way oo play it - ye should call it the
Crucifixion!!"
How did this dual-tradition
popularity come about? Irish sources ultimately derive from Chicago Police
Captain Francis O’Neill’s (1848-1936) collection Music of Ireland (1903), and this is in fact the first appearance
of the tune under the title “The Contradiction.” (Police) Sergeant James
O’Neill (1863-1949), a fiddler originally from
While O’Neill obtained most of his tunes from Irish
expatriates living in Chicago, many of his tunes came from older
manuscripts—for example, many of his airs are direct from the earlier works of
Bunting and Joyce, and a few seem to have been culled from Ryan’s Mammoth Collection of 1050 Reels and Jigs, published in by
Howe in Boston in 1883 (and more familiar to us under its modern title Cole’s 1001 Fiddle Tunes). Therein “The Contradiction” appears under
the title “Miss Gunning’s Fancy Reel” in a nearly identical four-part setting.
In fact, it is so close that one can argue that the O’Neill’s sourced the tune
from Ryan’s, or at the very least from a musician who had learned the tune from
Ryan’s. Why the name might have been changed to “The Contradiction” remains a
mystery.
Working backward, where did publisher Howe obtain
his version of “Miss Gunning’s Fancy Reel”?
Again, this is not known, although it is more than likely Howe obtained it
from Scottish sources, where it appeared in print 130 years prior to Irish
versions. Kerr printed the same four-part tune and title “Miss Gunnings Fancy
Reel” in his Merry Melodies, a
collection that appeared at about the same time as Ryan’s Mammoth (the actual dates of the Kerr collections are
somewhat in dispute). The four-part tune first appears in the Howe/Kerr
collections, however, three-part versions of a less elaborate “Miss Gunning’s”
appear in Scottish publications of a century earlier. Borders- region publisher
James Aird included it in his Selection
of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, (Vol.1, 1782) as did Scots
bandleader “King” McGlashan in his Collection
of Reels (1786). Brendan Breathnach thought “Miss Gunning’s” was the
creation of renowned strathspey composer William Marshall (1748-1833), an
opinion apparently based on the fact that Marshall’s publisher had included
“Miss Gunning’s” as a filler tune on a music sheet printed in 1800 called the Kinrara Collection. Interestingly, Cape Breton
fiddlers were aware of both three and four-part versions but in the 20th
century preferred the more complicated
four-part setting in O’Neill for their repertoire, and thus the melody is known
primarily as “The Contradiction” on that island. Interestingly, the tune as
“Miss Gunning’s Rant” appears in the late 19th century manuscript of
Stephen Grier, a musician from
But is “Miss Gunning’s” a Scots tune? It apparently
was popular in
It turns out that there were actually two Miss
Gunnings—sisters Maria (1732-1760) and Elizabeth (1734-1790), who in the early
1750’s became the toast of
Elizabeth Gunning
Instead of a career on the stage, however, they
traveled to
Elizabeth
Gunning
The
event that has made most noise since my last is the extempore wedding
of the
youngest of the two Gunnings, two ladies of surpassing loveliness, named
respectively Mary and Elizabeth…whom Mrs. Montague calls "those goddesses
the Gunnings." Lord Coventry, a grave
young lord, of the remains of the patriot breed,
has long
dangled after the eldest, virtuously, with regard to her honour, not very
honourably with regard to his own credit. About six weeks ago Duke Hamilton,
the very
reverse of the earl, hot, debauched, extravagant, and equally damaged
in his fortune and person, fell in love with the youngest at the
masquerade, and
determined to
marry her in the spring. About a fortnight since, at an immense
assembly at my Lord Chesterfield's, made to show the house, which is really
most magnificent, Duke Hamilton made violent love at one end of the
room,
while he was playing at Faro at the other end; that is, he saw neither
the bank
nor his own cards, which were of three hundred pounds each: he soon
lost a
thousand. I own
I was so little a professor in love that I thought all this
parade looked ill for the poor girl; and could not conceive, if he was so
much engaged with his mistress as to disregard such sums, why he played
at all. However, two nights afterwards, being left alone with her,
while her
mother and sister were at
that he sent for a parson. The Doctor refused to perform the ceremony
without
license or ring; the Duke swore he would send for the archbishop;
at last they were married with a ring of the BED-CURTAIN, at half-an-hour
after twelve at night, at May-fair Chapel.
Alas,
beauty has its price. The prevailing fashion of the period demanded white skins
and red rouged cheeks, and lead was used as the basis of many cosmetics. The
noxious effect of the lead caused skin eruptions, which encouraged ladies to
powder their skins ever more vigorously to mask these unsightly blemishes.
Several ladies of fashion thus poisoned themselves, the most famous of whom was
Maria, who died in 1760 at the age of 28.
A Bachante. John Rafael Smith, after
Joshua Reynolds
Thought to be based on Elizabeth Gunning
Elizabeth
"Whoe'er he be that
sojourns here,
I pity much his case —
Unless he come to wait upon
The Lord their God, "His Grace...."
Elizabeth Dutchess of Hamilton c. 1752,
Richard Houston
It has been a long
journey for a fine melody. Created to honor to figures of popular
(The author wishes to acknowledge the kind
assistance of Bruce Olson, Henrik Norbeck, Nigel Gatherer, Jim Coogan and
Philippe Varlet in the preparation of this article).
Andrew Kuntz
aikuntz@optonline.net
X:1
T:Miss Gunning’s
S:Thompson's 1st coll'n of 200 country dances
S:via c 1780 reissue of c 1758 collection
M:C|
L:1/8
Z:Transcribed
by Bruce Olson
K:A
c2BA (G/A/B) ED|CEAc BE E2|c2BG G/A/B Ed|(c/d/e) EB|cAA2::\
aAaA aAA2|(G/A/B) "tr"B2 (G/A/B) "tr"B2|aAaA aAA2|c2BA
EAA2::\
ce"tr"fe ce"tr"fe|fedc BE
"tr"E2|(ce)"tr"fe ce"tr"fe|\
fefg aAA2:|]
X:2
T:Miss
Gunning’s Reel
M:C|
L:1/8
S:McGlashan
– Reels
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:A
e|(dc)(BA)
(G/A/B) (.E.D) | CEAc BEEe | (dc)(BA) (G/A/B) (.E.d) | (c/d/e) Bd c>AA>e
|
(dc)(BA)
(G/A/B) (.E.D) | CEAc BEEe | (.d.c.B.A. G.F.E.D) | CEAd cA A || e |
aAaA
aA (d/c/B/A/) | GB “tr”(BA/B/) GB “tr”(BA/B/) |
aAaA
aA d/c/B/A/ | (c/d/e) (Bd) cAAe | aAaA aA (d/c/B/A/) |
GB
“tr”(BA/B/) GB “tr”(BA/B/) | .e(cBA) .a(cBA) | (c/d/e) (Bd) cA A ||
|:
e | dcBA G/A/B/G/ .E.D | CEAc B/A/G/F/ Ee | (dc)(BA) G/A/B/G/ Ed |
c/d/e/c/
B/c/d/B/ cA A :: e | cefe cefe | fedc BEEe | cefe cefe | fefg aA A :|
X:3
T:Contradiction Reel, The
R:reel
D:Matt Molloy: Heathery Breeze
Z:id:hn-reel-167
Z:transcribed
by henrik.norbeck@mailbox.swipnet.se
M:C|
K:A
c2cA BE~E2|GABc dfed|c2cA GABc|1 defg afed:|2 defg ~a3z||
|:aA~A2 aAcA|GBEB GBE2|1 aA~A2 aAcA|GBEB cA~A2:|2 agfe fedc|Begb ~a3z||
|:aec'e aec'e|bed'e bed'e|c'ee'e c'ee'e|d'bc'a ea~a2:|
|:ce~e2 cefe|d2cA Be~e2|1 cefe cefe|fege ~a3z:|2 cBce ~f3a|(3gab eg ~a3z||