Sonidos de tlön (releasing May 2, 2025)
fivebyfive’s fifth album release features a new work by Grammy-nominated and Latin Grammy winner Roberto Sierra, "Sonidos de Tlön" commissioned by fivebyfive.
Sierra wrote the work inspired by the magic realism of 20th-century Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges whose short story of Tlön tells of a fantastical place where if you dance in a building you might find the building dances with you, but if you leave the building it might cease to exist; a place where mirrors might reveal portals into other worlds, or perhaps alternate versions of yourself.
“Sierra does an extraordinary job of taking us into a musical twilight zone. I think listeners will definitely find this fantastical,” proclaimed Laura Lentz, fivebyfive’s Artistic Director.
Album drops May 2, 2025!
Listen on Spotify (link available May 2, 2025)
Listen on Apple Music (link available May 2, 2025)
Buy on Band Camp (link available May 2, 2025)
Sonidos de Tlön
composed by Robert Sierra
commissioned and performed by fivebyfive
Laura Lentz, Artistic Director & flute, alto flute, bass flute
Marcy Bacon, clarinet, bass clarinet
Ken Luk, electric guitar
Eric J. Polenik, bass
Haeyeun Jeun, piano
Marc Webster, Executive Director, audio and video artist
Track list:
El Remoto Grito de un Pájaro (The Remote Cry of a Bird)
Triangular y Fragmentado / Brillante y Misterioso (Triangular and fragmented / Bright and Mysterious)
Bailando Arquitectura (Dancing Architecture)
Parada Fúnebre (Funderal Parade)
La Brújula (The Compass)
Recorded by Marc Webster at 1st Presbyterian Church of Pittsford, NY, mixed and mastered at Blue on Blue Recording Studio in Rochester, NY.
PROGRAM NOTES
Roberto Sierra
For more than four decades, the works of Grammy-nominated and Latin Grammy winner Roberto Sierra have been part of the repertoire of many of the leading orchestras, ensembles and festivals in the USA and Europe. At the inaugural concert of the 2002 world-renowned Proms in London, his Fandangos was performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a concert that was broadcast by both the BBC Radio and Television throughout the UK and Europe. Many major American and European orchestras and international ensembles have commissioned and performed his works. Among those ensembles are the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, New Mexico, Houston, Minnesota, Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio and Phoenix, as well as the American Composers Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the Spanish orchestras of Madrid, Galicia, Castilla y León, Barcelona, Continuum, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Opus One, and others.
Roberto Sierra was born in 1953 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. He studied composition in Puerto Rico and Europe, where one of his teachers was György Ligeti at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, Germany.
Recording notes
Tracks for Sonidos de Tlön were recorded at First Presbyterian Church in Pittsford NY. This church was built in 1863. It has a wooden chancel and lots of wood paneling which provide wonderful live but warm acoustics for small chamber groups and has become a favorite recording location for fivebyfive. A big thank you to First Presbyterian Church Pittsford for their support in making this album possible!
Tracks were mixed and mastered at Blue on Blue Recording Studio in Rochester, NY. Blue on Blue is owned and operated by Marc Webster.
The “Sonidos de Tlön” commission was been made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
