“Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow” is an early African-American Spiritual and “Plantation Song” first collected and published in 1867. It was further collected and celebrated at Hampton University in the early 20th century, and later popularized by soprano Dorothy Maynor through her school, the Harlem School of the Arts.

This 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 with the ostinati keep the rhythmic pulse moving.

I arranged this piece for Piano and Voices (Soprano & Tenor) for the Sierra Vista United Methodist Church (SVUMC). This piece is best played using the "GeneralUser GS.sf2" Soundfont by S. Christian Collins Software (http://www.schristiancollins.com/generaluser.php).