This work, completed in August 2007, calls for mixed chorus (divisi) together with flute and harp. It is in six movements, with the text drawn from the poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, born 200 years ago this year on February 27, 1807. The  commission was made possible by a grant from Meet the Composer. It is dedicated to Philip Brunelle and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers.

The Ensemble Singers gave the world premiere of this commissioned work by Minnesota composer Eric Barnum, based on a text from Dante's Divine Comedy. This  piece was selected through Barnum's participation in the 2006 VocalEssence/American Composers Forum Essentially Choral program.

The World Beloved, a piece by composer Carol Barnett and librettist Marisha Chamberlain. This world premiere was composed for the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Monroe Crossing, the Midwest's leading bluegrass and gospel quintet.  A second performance occurred on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 8:00pm.

An immediate success, the work was recorded by VocalEssence and Monroe Crossing and released on Clarion Records in November 2007.