In 1751 a thinly veiled attack appeared in an anonymous pamphlet (attributed to William Hayes) entitled "The Art of Composing Music by a Method Entirely New ...Suited to the Meanest Capacity", suggesting that Gunn composed using a Spruzzarino - a fictional device that squirted random dots of ink onto manuscript paper.Gunn responded in good humour by naming a 1752 publication of his music "12 English Songs, by the newly invented method of composing with the Spruzzarino".Gunn's compositions were in fact highly successful - his 1742 "2 Cantatas and 6 Songs" had 464 subscribers, including the composer George Frideric Handel.These are the earliest recorded organised classical music concerts in Birmingham's history and featured repertoire including Handel, Gunn himself and fellow local composer John Alcock.
