Paradiso, an oratorio composed by Robert Kyr on Robin Kirkpatrick's poetic libretto based on Dante's Commedia was commissioned by the Notre Dame Vocale and Carmen-Helena Téllez. As a musical work, Paradiso is an oratorio in 17 scenes, whose text is a lyrical meditation and profound reflection on Dante's version of heaven. While Dante is the source of the libretto, Kyr's musical setting arises from a variety of sources that are interwoven throughout the work. Composer Robert Kyr has been a member of the music faculty at the University of Oregon since 1990 and is director of the renowned Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium. He has been engaged for a long time with the themes of spiritual renewal, peace and environmentalism, through a style that partakes of both early and contemporary techniques. Librettist Robin Kirkpatrick is a poet and internationally renowned Dante scholar and is a fellow of Robinson College at Cambridge. Called a "quiet force behind contemporary music in America today," conductor Carmen-Helena Téllez is music director of the Notre Dame Vocale, Kosmologia Interdisciplinary Project, Aquava New Music Studio, and Indiana University's Contemporary Vocal Ensemble and has commissioned, premiered and recorded many landmark works.