El hawa ghallab oum kalthoum biography

Byshe was so well known to the public that she had become a role model for several young female singers. InUmm Kulthum sang for the inaugural broadcast of Radio Cairothe state station. InKing Farouk I of Egypt decorated her with the Supreme Class of the nishan el kamal[ 5 ] a decoration reserved exclusively for female royalty and politicians. Despite this recognition, the royal family rigidly opposed her potential marriage to the King's uncle, a rejection that deeply wounded her pride.

It led her to distance herself from the royal family and embrace grassroots causes, exemplified by her acceptance of the request of the Egyptian legion trapped in the Faluja Pocket during the Arab—Israeli Warwho had asked her to sing a particular song. Among the army men trapped were the figures who would lead the Egyptian revolutionprominently Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Following the revolution, the Egyptian Musicians' Union of which she became a member and eventually presidentrejected her because she had sung for the then-deposed King Farouk of Egypt. When Nasser discovered that her songs were banned from being aired on the radio, he reportedly said something to the effect of "What are they, crazy?

Do you want Egypt to turn against us? Some claim that Umm Kulthum's popularity helped Nasser's political agenda. For example, Nasser's speeches and other government messages were frequently broadcast immediately after Umm Kulthum's monthly radio concerts. She sang many songs in support of Nasser, with whom she developed a close friendship.

Umm Kulthum was also known for her continuous contributions to works supporting the Egyptian military efforts. Her songs deal mostly with the universal themes of love, longing and loss. A typical Umm Kulthum concert consisted of the performance of two or three songs over a period of three to four hours. These performances are in some ways reminiscent of the structure of Western opera, consisting of long vocal passages linked by shorter orchestral interludes.

However, Umm Kulthum was not stylistically influenced by opera, and she sang solo for most of her career. During the s her repertoire took the first of several specific stylistic directions. Her songs were virtuosic, as befitted her newly trained and very capable voice, and romantic and modern in musical style, feeding the prevailing currents in Egyptian popular culture of the time.

El hawa ghallab oum kalthoum biography: Oum Kalthoum was born in

She worked extensively with texts by romance poet Ahmad Rami and composer Mohammad El-Qasabgi, whose songs incorporated European instruments such as the violoncello and double bass, as well as harmony. In she made her debut as an actress in the movie Weddad by Fritz Kramp. Umm Kulthum's musical directions in the s and early s and her mature performing style led this period to become popularly known as the singer's "golden age".

Keeping up with changing popular taste as well as her own artistic inclinations, in the early s, she requested songs from composer Zakariya Ahmad and colloquial poet Mahmud Bayram el-Tunsi cast in styles considered to be indigenously Egyptian. This represented a dramatic departure from the modernist romantic songs of the s, mainly led by Mohammad El-Qasabgi.

Umm Kulthum had abstained from singing Qasabgi's music since the early s. Their last stage song collaboration in was "Raq el Habib" "The lover's heart softens"one of her most popular, intricate, and high-calibre songs. The reason for the separation is not clear. It is speculated that this was due in part to the popular failure of the movie Aidain which Umm Kulthum sings mostly Qasabgi's compositions.

Qasabgi was experimenting with Arabic music, influenced by classical European music, and had been composing a lot for Asmahana singer who immigrated to Egypt from Syria. She was Umm Kulthum's only serious competitor before her death in a car accident in Simultaneously, Umm Kulthum started to rely heavily on a younger composer who joined her artistic team a few years earlier: Riad Al-Sunbati.

While Sonbati was evidently influenced by Qasabgi in those early years, the melodic lines he composed were more lyrical and more acceptable to Umm Kulthum's audience. Similar poems written by Shawqi were subsequently composed by Sonbati and sung by Umm Kulthum, including Woulida el Houda ["The Prophet is Born"]in which she surprised royalists by singing a verse that describes Muhammad as "the Imam of Socialists ".

The song included quatrains that deal with both epicurianism and redemption. Ibrahim Nagi 's poem " Al-Atlal " ["The Ruins"], sung by Umm Kalthum in in a personal version and with a melody composed by Sonbati, is considered one of her signature songs. When Umm Kulthum sang live, the duration of each song was not fixed as she would repeat at length verses requested by the audience.

Her performances usually lasted for up to five hours, during which three songs were sung. Besides requests, it also depended on her creative mood for improvisationsillustrating the dynamic relationship between the singer and the audience as they fed off each other's emotional energy. Her concerts used to broadcast from PM on Thursday until the early morning hours on Friday.

This intense, highly personalized relationship was undoubtedly one of the reasons for Umm Kulthum's tremendous success as an artist. It is worth noting, though, that the length of a performance did not necessarily reflect either its quality or the improvisatory creativity of Umm Kulthum. In it was followed by another, Asbaha al-Ana 'indi Bunduqiyyah ["I now have a rifle"].

Hadeeth el Rouh ["sermon of the soul"], which is a translation of the poet Mohammad Iqbal's "Shikwa", set a very reflective tone. Generals in the audience are said to have been left in tears. Following the el hawa ghallab oum kalthoum biography of the United Arab Emirates UAE inshe staged several concerts upon the invitation of its first president Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to celebrate the event.

Of the nearly songs recorded by Kalthum during her career, were written by Rami. Upon first arriving in Cairo, Kalthum relied on the songs taught her by her father. She later added popular songs and Arabic poems and adopted a more upscale, European style of dress. She also replaced the vocal accompaniment of her brother and father with a takhtan ensemble of musicians, who played ouda stringed instrument resembling an acoustic bassas well as a violin, qanun a flat zither-like instrumentand riqq a small tambourine.

In she recorded several songs for the Odeon label, which became successful throughout Egypt. For the remainder of the decade her recordings were played extensively all over the country. In the meantime, she continued to perform at concert venues in Cairo and, byhad become one of the most popular and successful entertainers in Egypt. In she was asked to perform on the first broadcast of Egypt's state-run radio station.

Her subsequent radio performances were to catapult her to the pinnacle of Egyptian stardom. In the late s, she began broadcasting a weekly Thursday-night concert over the radio, a tradition that she maintained until As her popularity increased, Kalthum began commissioning songs from Egypt's best composers that were based on poems she selected.

She appeared in five films between andand was named a member of the Listening Committee, a group that chose the music played on Egyptian radio. She was elected president of the Egyptian musician's union in the s. Following Umm Kulthum made a public statement regarding visits in her household, which she announced she would not receive.

Amin El Mahdi invited her into the cultural circles in Cairo. Inshe was introduced to the poet Ahmed Rami, who was to write songs for her and also introduced her to French literature eventually becoming her head mentor in Arabic literature and literary analysis. She also maintained a tightly managed public image, which undoubtedly added to her allure.

Furthermore, she was introduced to the renowned oud virtuoso and composer Mohamed El Qasabgi, who introduced her to the Arabic Theatre Palace, where she would experience her first real public success. Other musicians who influenced her musical performances at the time were Dawwod Hosni or Abu al-Ila Muhammad [fr]. Al-Ila Muhammad instructed her in the control over her voice, and variants of the Arabic Muwashshah.

Byshe was so well known to the public, that she was the example to follow for several young female singers. InUmm Kulthum sang for the inaugural broadcast of Radio Cairo, the state station. From then on onwards, she performed at a concert on every first Thursday of a month for forty years. Her influence kept growing and expanding beyond the artistic scene: the reigning royal family would request private concerts and even attend her public performances.

InKing Farouk I of Egypt decorated her with the highest level of orders nishan el kamala decoration reserved exclusively to members of the royal family and politicians. Despite this recognition, the royal family rigidly opposed her potential marriage to the King's uncle, a rejection that deeply wounded her pride and led her to distance herself from the royal family and embrace grassroots causes, such as her answering the request of the Egyptian legion trapped in the Faluja Pocket during the Arab—Israeli War to sing a particular song.

Among the army men trapped were the figures who were going to lead the bloodless revolution of 23 Julyprominently Gamal Abdel Nasser. Following the revolution, the Egyptian musicians guild of which she became a member and eventually president rejected her because she had sung for the then-deposed King Farouk of Egypt. When Nasser discovered that her songs were banned from being aired on the radio, he reportedly said something to the effect of "What are they, crazy?

El hawa ghallab oum kalthoum biography: Uu ek Egyptian singer,

Do you want Egypt to turn against us? Some claim that Umm Kulthum's popularity helped Nasser's political agenda. For example, Nasser's speeches and other government messages were frequently broadcast immediately after Umm Kulthum's monthly radio concerts. She sang many songs in support of Nasser, with whom she developed a close friendship.

Umm Kulthum was also known for her continuous contributions to works supporting the Egyptian military efforts. Untilfor about half a century she gave at least one monthly concert. Umm Kulthum's monthly concerts were renowned for their ability to clear the streets of some of the world's most populous cities as people rushed home to tune in.

Her songs deal mostly with the universal themes of love, longing and loss. A typical Umm Kulthum concert consisted of the performance of two or three songs over a period of three to four hours. These performances are in some ways reminiscent of the structure of Western opera, consisting of long vocal passages linked by shorter orchestral interludes.

However, Umm Kulthum was not stylistically influenced by opera, and she sang solo most of her career. During the s her repertoire took the first of several specific stylistic directions. Friday being the Muslim day of rest, the Thursday-night events occupied what was considered prime time. This concert series lasted for more than thirty-five years and became that by which she was known throughout the Arab world.

Eventually, stories were told about life in the Arabic-speaking world coming to a stop for these monthly concerts. Radio remained a critically important patron of musicians throughout World War IIwhen material for the production of recordings became scarce and communications with European production facilities interrupted. It took on greater social importance than ever following the Egyptian Revolution of under the government of President Gamal Abdel Nasser who supported the broadcast of entertainment to ameliorate the daily stresses of economic difficulty and who strengthened broadcasting facilities as a means of advancing his political agenda.

Along with many of her compatriots, Umm Kulthum welcomed the Egyptian revolution and sang songs in support of the new regime throughout the s. She had also, by this time, accepted leadership roles in the world of music. She served as seven-term president of the musician's union in the late s and s, sat on the Listeners' Committee that selected songs suitable for broadcast on Egyptian Radio and, in the s and s, served on governmental committees on the arts.

During the late s and early s, she also suffered from a variety of health issues including a thyroid problem that seems to have originated in the late s, and problems with her vision prompting her near-constant use of dark glasses. The number of her performances and her production of new songs decreased in the s. In she married one of her physicians, Hasan al-Hifnawi; their relationship seems to have been important and companionable, although they had no children.

As she regained her health in the s, Umm Kulthum took note of the successes of young singers, notably Abd al-Halim Hafiz, and began to seek new songs from younger composers while maintaining her continuing collaboration with al-Sunbati. She and Ahmad had parted ways in a legal dispute and he died in Baligh Hamdi, Kamal al-Tawil, and Muhammad al-Muji composed for her on els hawa ghallab oum kalthoum biography from popular song lyricists and a new, modern style of song emerged for her, one that was not always valued by her older listeners but that has remained popular nonetheless.

In the s, apparently at the behest of President Nasser's government, she and her rival al-Wahhab agreed to a collaboration that produced ten songs, beginning with "Inta Umri" You are my life ina song that has remained wildly popular ever since. Especially compared to her younger colleague, the Lebanese singer fayruz, in the s, some listeners began to critique Umm Kulthum as insufficiently engaged with the myriad problems with which the Arab world was occupied.

Many felt that, with her growing stature as a cultural figure, she should serve as a more outspoken advocate for the rights and plights of Arabs, notably the Palestinians. Perhaps motivated by this view, following Egypt's defeat at the hands of the Israelis inUmm Kulthum launched one of her most famous endeavors: her concerts for Egypt. Traveling both in Egypt and the Arab world, she launched a series of fund-raising concerts to benefit the Egyptian war treasury, which garnered more than 2 million pounds sterling, an enormous sum at the time.

Often, she solicited poetry by local poets, including nizar qabbani from Syria and al-Hadi Adam from Sudan, which were then set to music by al-Sunbati especially for her concerts. Beginning in aboutUmm Kulthum's health began to fail for the final time and she died on 3 February Her funeral, which was delayed for several days to allow for the arrival of foreign dignitaries, was reported to be larger that that of Nasser's—itself one of the largest funerals in history.

Umm Kulthum brought historically Arabic aesthetics and music into the twentieth century and gave them new life. Working from her prodigious native ability and single-minded devotion to singing and with the help of teachers, she became probably the best singer of Arabic poetry of the century anywhere in the Arabic-speaking world. Arguably, al-Wahhab was equally accomplished in his youth, but his voice began to fade in the s and he turned his attention to composition.

Her position at the pinnacle of Arabic song derived from her command of the language in both its colloquial and sophisticated literary forms; her vocal power and wide range; her command of the complexities of the Arab melodic system of maqamat melodic modes, singular, maqam ; and, most of all, her ability to fashion one rendition after another of a single line of poetry, each different from the other and each bringing the impact of the meaning of the line to the listener is a slightly different way.

This extended the performance of a or minute composition to an hour or more engaging listeners in feeling for poetic sentiment that enveloped them with the rapture called tarab literally, ecstasy from listening to her. Her Thursday night performances, which began at or at night, lasted until 3 or 4 in the morning, making this experience the highlight of the month for millions carried by radio waves across the Arab world.

El hawa ghallab oum kalthoum biography: Umm Kulthum was an

At the same time, Umm Kulthum carefully controlled her public image. She persisted in following the stylish but modest dress of a wealthy Arab woman. Her chignon mimicked the bun in which many working-class women tied their hair. She spoke and acted as a devout Muslim woman of her day. She deflected media attention from her personal life at all times.

Thus she enacted a model of feminine respectability in public life that resonated with the widely held mores of modesty in her society and helped instantiate her as a model of cultural accomplishment. Riyad al-Sunbati —a composer, began his life in a village in the Egyptian delta. His father sang at local weddings and special occasions.

El hawa ghallab oum kalthoum biography: This article is about

Later in life, he and Umm Kulthum realized they had met each other as children, their paths crossing in a train station where both families were in transit to performances. He learned to play the ud oud as a young man and came to Cairo first to study at the new Institute for Arab Music and very soon thereafter to teach there. The young Farid al-Atrash, a nascent ud virtuoso and soon-to-be film star, was one of al-Sunbati's early students.

Al-Sunbati's skill at instrumental improvisation soon developed into a prodigious compositional talent. He developed an extraordinary gift for setting poetic texts of all sorts from simple film songs to complex classical qasa'id.