Come Follow Me

John Hilton the younger's secular canon Come Follow Me is a striking and somewhat dark example of English part-music from the 17th century. Composed for six voices in two antiphonal choirs (SSS and TTT), it uses the canonic form to build musical tension around its unsettling text. The opening invitation, "Come follow me," quickly turns to a chilling destination: "To the gallow tree." The composer masterfully employs the imitative entries and the insistent nature of the canon to underscore the inexorable journey and the stark, almost grim, humour of the text, making it a memorable and thought-provoking addition to a programme of early music.