By Anthony Crawford
The Marble City Music Festival, the brainchild of Kilkenny violinist Patrick Rafter, was launched in Kilkenny last week. People from Kilkenny and further afield will one day look back and be able to say that they were in attendance when this new festival was launched.
And it is fair to say that it was a launch with a difference. It had a panache and charisma about it that seemed to set it apart from other such festivals.
The two-day event boasted three stellar concerts at St. John’s Priory in Kilkenny.
And what a venue it proved to be.
The sense of history, the acoustics, the sheer ambience of this fantastic building complemented the rich and beautiful music on offer.
Prior to the 4pm Sunday performance, a delighted Patrick Rafter took time out to speak with The Kilkenny Observer Newspaper.
Patrick explained that of course he was nervous starting a new festival. “I can assure you this has taken a long time in coming to fruition, and of course we are just getting started”, said the very affable Rafter.
Patrick continued “We are of course delighted that all three shows sold out. I would be telling a lie if I didn’t say that this is what we hoped for, but while the arts and the staging of festivals is a wonderful thing, it is a hard graft from start to finish”.
For this punter, it was a festival where certain things stood out.
The quality of the music and musicians of course.
The award-winning violinist was blessed to have at his disposal such great and talented people to join him in his first festival. But there was more.
It was quite obvious that Patrick Rafter had put a ferocious amount of time and effort into the planning for this event.
It brought to mind lines from Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Scaffolding’.
‘Masons, when they start upon a building
Are careful to test out the scaffolding
Make sure the planks won’t slip
At busy points
Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.’
Rafter definitely had everything in place before the first note rang in St John’s Priory.
There was a warmth and a welcome that was personal and special.
Family members and friends gathered over the two days and volunteered as humpers and helpers, ticket collectors and runners.
All for one and one for all as they say.
Patrick Rafter – an incredible violinist – who has built an international career through awards and performances in just about every major concert hall worldwide, will look back on this new festival with pride.
No doubt things, as they always do, will not have gone as planned. But to be fair, if they did, they were not noticed by the public who raved about the performances.
One member of the audience who had travelled from Mallow in Cork, spoke of ‘breath taking performances.
With Rafter himself to the fore, the audience was treated to a host of Ireland’s most captivating performers – Fiachra Garvey, Contempo String Quartet and Rachel Factor.
Unlike your typical classical concert – Rafter told stories from the stage resulting in much laughter which left musicians and audiences alike on an exhilarating high.
And going that extra mile, following each performance there was a complimentary glass of mulled wine and mince pies and chats with the musicians.
If one was pressed to pick a highlight from the festival.?
For me it was the electric and dazzling performance of Vivaldi’s 4 seasons.
All musicians were simply outstanding. The interaction and smiles from the stage were infectious and the atmosphere was magical.
Speaking to the audience at the end of an emotional and no doubt exhausting event, Patrick Rafter promised bigger and better for 2024, with festivals scheduled for May and December.
More information of Marble City Music festival can be seen on their website. www.marblecitymusicfestival.com
