A unique visual and auditory experience could be enjoyed at Bruges railway station on Sunday evening: in the historic ticketing hall, 350 music lovers attended Mattias Devriendt’s a lie-down concert.
Awesome lie-down concert by pianist Mattias Devriendt at Bruges station’s historic ticketing hall
Colin Clapson
Published:
A lie-down concert is an intimate musical experience often in a 360° space, where the audience lies on mats, pillows or blankets to enjoy music while relaxing or meditating rather than sitting or standing.
Roll out a mat, lie down and quietly enjoy the piano music, the beautiful location and the atmospheric lighting: that is what Mattias Devriendt aims to achieve with his Urban Tour. He is stopping at four Flemish train stations: yesterday at Bruges, Wednesday at Antwerp, Saturday at Ostend and Sunday at Leuven.
Special venues chosen
Devriendt often chooses unusual venues for his performances. He has previously played on the beach, in warehouses and in Bruges’s historic beguinage.
“I love playing at special venues. But the choice of railway stations is also symbolic,” says Devriendt. “Because at a station, people are usually in a hurry: they rush straight through. By attending a concert there, and certainly whilst lying down, you experience the space in a completely different way. You notice details you would otherwise never pay attention to.”
Historic ticketing hall
The historic ticketing hall at Bruges station has been closed to the public at large for over two years. That made the venue for Sunday’s concert all the more special.
“That makes it extra special for me to be able to play here,” says Devriendt. “I also think it’s a really beautiful space, with its murals. The hall also has a natural reverberation, just like a church does. My piano music sounds very rich here, majestic even; no amplification at all was needed.”