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.
Sonidos de Tlön was inspired by the 1940 short story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges. The story describes Tlön, a fantastical place where, among other things, if you dance in a building you might find the building dances with you. Enter into a sonic landscape where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur. Roberto Sierra's music evokes the shifting dimensions of Borges' literary universe, pulling us deeper into a realm where the fantastical becomes familiar, and the familiar becomes strange. We invite listeners to step into this fantastical musical twilight zone!
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: flute, also flute, bass flute, Artistic Director
Marcy Bacon: clarinet, bass clarinet
Ken Luk: electric guitar
Eric J. Polenik: bass
Haeyeun Jeun: piano
Marc Webster: recording engineer
Track list:
El Remoto Grito de un Pájaro (The Remote Cry of a Bird) 2:12
Triangular y Fragmentado / Brillante y Misterioso (Triangular and fragmented / Bright and Mysterious) 2:25
Bailando Arquitectura (Dancing Architecture) 3:20
Parada Fúnebre (Funeral Parade) 3:10
La Brújula (The Compass) 2:19
PROGRAM NOTES
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.
About the work:
The inspiration for Sonidos de Tlön was the 1940 short story Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges. The story describes Tlön, a world where subjective idealism guides reality. There are many languages, one lacking nouns, and another where the noun moon becomes round airy-light on dark– a combination of adjectives! I asked myself: what kind of music could exist in this strange world where centuries of extreme idealism have influenced reality?
El remoto grito de un pájaro reminds us of a tree that would cease to exist once the bird stops emitting its strange song. In Tlönic fashion, Triangular y Fragmentado/Brillante y Misterioso means waltz, a dance that represents its title. Since geometry includes tactile and visual disciplines, it is possible to dance to architecture (Bailando Arquitectura). In Parada fúnbre, a funeral becomes a parade where martial rhythms are combined with somber sounds. The work closes with the fantastic realization that an object from Tlön has invaded our world: a compass with a pulsating blue needle constantly vibrating, looking for an imaginary north. La brújula starts with the “tenuous tremors” emanating from the compass that finally grow louder, invading our sonic space.
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.
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.
