A Piano Meditation – Dublin Fringe Festival – Review
by Brian Merriman

Performances – 16 Sept, 20:30 (preview), 17, 18 & 20 Sept, 20:30
Venue – Dublin Castle – Chapel Royal

Produced by As If I Always Knew

Performed by: Cian Sweeney

Performances 17th,18th and 20th September at 8.30pm. 17th is part of the Fringe initiative of Pay What You Can pilot scheme.

On September 19th, Culture Night the performance will be staged in Cork City Hall.

From the ridiculous (a drag show) to the sublime, the magnificent Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle is the most appropriate venue for something billed, not as a concert but as an experience. The reconfiguration of the venue ensured the audience was at the heart of the performance. It worked so well.

A Piano Meditation is a self-improvised performance piece, which adds to and embraces the atmosphere in the room and dissipates all the hassled experiences of the audience who finally have a few moments of quality escapism. When I see improvised in the blurb I worry about discord and odd rhythms, not so here. When Sweeney improvises he fills the room with melody that massages and uplifts distracted minds.

The audience is invited to sit, stretch or even sleep in this blissful hour. I couldn’t avail of the latter as I am told I snore and I didn’t want to become part of the percussion section! The Krishna chiming bowl did a great job.

There is a construction on the piece from the Opening ritual inviting silence through chimes, through to Act One, with three themes which help us move on to the Deepening Ritual blending humming and an Irish air, to Act Two our Descent into ultimately a Sacred Cause and then the finale with another emblematic Irish air. It is lovely the way he blends our traditional airs with his own contemporary style.

I am always in awe of musicianship. It is an ultimate partnership and makes human talent and existence relevant. The beautiful instrument remains dormant and in silence, unless it engages with a human being. Only together can beauty be created. Pianos can have a huge physical presence, but it is only when the pianist sits and opens the lid does the complete magic begin. Sweeney has the capacity to create magic, just like a lullaby for the mind.

With all that is going on in this chaotic and divisive world, this generous artistic invitation to be present, to connect and to use sound and music as a meditation, is a stand out piece of the more energetic and alternative themes of the Fringe programme. It was lovely.