Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow!

This plantation song collected during the Civil War highlights the polyphony that call and response and echoing patterns produce. The melody moves from voice to voice to give each section an opportunity to alternate between singing the melody and responding to it. Contrasts in dynamics and vocal timbre lifts the melody off the page whith the ostinati keep the rhythmic pulse moving. Easily suited to a children's chorus or a women's chorus. (2:30)