tell me where is fancy bred (words: w. shakespeare)

Reddy set Shakespeare’s poem from The Merchant of Venice (Act 3 Scene 2) in 1983, for a production in the Drama Department of the University of Durban-Westville, South Africa. He was a Lecturer in Harmony & Counterpoint at the University at the time, and had already composed a number of works in early styles prior to that. Reddy was a virtuoso harpsichordist familiar with Renaissance techniques and he expected other musicians to be too, hence his indication ‘Perform in Renaissance style’ at the top of p.1 of the score. The instrumentation is ‘variable’ as he put it on the paper cover of the autograph manuscript (written in black ink on photocopied music paper) ‘e.g. voice, harpsichord + consort of recorders’. Reddy recorded the song at home, playing and singing (sotto voce) both verses.