We Take Up the Task Eternal

Cast in three sections, this piece opens with the chorus singing a triumphant call to action. The second section introduces a simple theme which is sung by the upper and the lower voices consecutively. The middle section features the upper and the lower voices in close harmonies musing on the wonder of the stars and planets. A musical palindrome, the work then restates the simple theme, ending with the triumphant call. May be performed as part of a collection of four Whitman settings by the composer.