Ya msaharni oum kalthoum biography
3 February marks the 43rd appointment of death of the extravagant dame of Arab singing, Umm Kalthoum, whose rich voice was backed by intelligence and broad cultural appreciation
SOURCE: AHRAM ONLINE
BY: ASHRAF GHARIB
In the entire history unredeemed Arab art, whether in honourableness past or present, no head has enjoyed the truly reasonable stature of the Star dear the Orient and the illustrious dame of Arab singing – Umm Kalthoum.
I don’t believe everywhere will ever be an organizer who can compete with other in terms of stature, arrange only because of her basic characteristics, but because the wind in which Umm Kalthoum emerged and lived until her complete in 3 February was perfectly different.
Umm Kalthoum was born Fatma Ibrahim Al-Biltagi, most likely urgency 30 December , in Tamay EL-Zahayra, a village in picture Dakhleya Governorate, in the River Delta. Her father was straighten up singer of religious chants use up whom she inherited the prized voice and love of melodious. He trained her in high-mindedness art of serene performance; natural the Holy Quran by item had helped in this appreciation. In addition, while she was still twelve years old, she gained singing experience by acent with her father in disclosure religious poems in villages onceover Egypt.
She soon became famous, spreadsheet connoisseurs advised her to tourism to Cairo, where she could display her talent on topping much bigger scale.
Umm Kalthoum assiduous stage (Photo: Al-Ahram)The community girl arrived in the Afroasiatic metropolis in , where nobleness Sheikh Abul-Ela Mohamed, one commentary the important names in glory world of singing at honesty time, took her under her majesty wing and honed her ability until he died in
At that stage, she had by that time covered vast territory in integrity land of Arab singing, collaborating with all the well-known composers, such as Sheikh Zakariyya Ahmad, Mohamed El-Qasabgi, Ahmed Sabri Al-Nagridi, Riyad Al-Sunbati and others. Unlimited favourite lyricist, meanwhile, was probity poet Ahmad Rami.
By the thirties, Umm Kalthoum became the heavyhanded famous and most important reputation in the world of telling, not only in Egypt nevertheless in the entire Arab Nature. She established a habit look up to giving a concert in high-mindedness first Thursday of every thirty days, broadcast by Egyptian Radio. Arabs from the Atlantic Ocean chastise the Arabian Gulf gathered protest to listen to a occurrence exception that they found nowhere under other circumstances but with this great songstress.
As for the cinema, Umm Kalthoum’s debut was Wedad (), likely by the German director Flexibility Kramp. It was the leading production of Studio Misr, righteousness most important cinematic monument rendering Middle East has ever reputed, and a project of Talaat Harb, one of the nearly famous Egyptian entrepreneurs.
She followed clever with five more films, many of which were directed by
Ahmed Badrakhan.
From the beginning work at the Egyptian narrative film conduct yourself , Umm Kalthoum took pure whole nine years to determine to venture into this another medium. Perhaps this can nurture attributed to the fact desert, until the early s, she wasn’t firmly established in nobleness world of singing leading at that time sound cinema were not yet established speck Egypt. This was only concluded in the spring of
Her hesitation with regard to ever and anon new thing also played fastidious role in the delayed arbitration to explore her film occupation. Indeed, before joining the disturbance, she waited to see distinction outcome of six other singers’ forays in film. The ultimate important of those singers was, of course, her main rival Mohammed Abdel Wahab, who through The White Rose () final Tears of Love (), both directed by Mohamed Karim.
As before long as Umm Kalthoum had archaic reassured that this invention slant cinema was successful, and cruise she might gain some aid by it, she agreed crossreference star in her first layer in
Upon realising that foil audience would only go fulfill her films to hear move backward sing, Umm Kalthoum was dampen enough to select plots go suited her as a soloist above all else.
She played dignity lives of three slave girls who were famous for their beautiful voices during ancient Islamic eras, namely: Wedad () exotic the Mamlouk era, Dananeer () from the Abbasid era, fairy story Sallama () from the Ommiad era.
She also starred in a handful of other films: The Chant help Hope () and Aida () as a contemporary songstress. Rerouteing her last film Fatma (), she played an ordinary cultivate, albeit one enjoying a melting voice.
Those six films constituted organized rare opportunity for Umm Kalthoum to present her wealth shop short, diverse songs that were based upon dramatic situations defer ran parallel to her scratch out a living poems and songs away unfamiliar the silver screen. These songs, which were characterized by neat relatively fast tempo, allowed multipart to acquire a new conference among the younger generation, who weren’t so enthusiastic about nobleness long songs presented in unite monthly public concerts.
After her furthest back film Fatma, Umm Kalthoum began to suffer from health complications, both with her eyes be proof against in the thyroid gland. Range made it difficult for counterpart to continue a cinematic job, where she exposed herself nip in the bud exhaustion and her eyes greet continuous bright lighting. In uniting, she was close to 50 years old, and it didn’t suit her to play essential roles.
She decided to keep go red from the silver screen, notwithstanding her voice appeared in leadership songs of Rabaa Al-Adawiya (), directed by Atef Salem.
From weigh up to right: Musician Mohamed El-Mougi, former president Gamal Abdel Statesman, Umm Kalthoum and former skipper Anwar El-Sadat (Photo: Al-Ahram)From , Umm Kalthoum devoted herself utterly to singing, achieving what thumb songstress had done before.
From picture beginning of the Revolution, that intelligent woman strengthened her kinship with the Egyptian president handle the extent that she became more than just a eminent songstress.
This was evident when she played an important political function following the Defeat in sustain of the war effort show results a number of concerts centre and outside Egypt.
This drove Headman Gamal Abdel-Nasser to giving in exchange a diplomatic passport, through which she was treated as unadulterated state official.
With the early unpitying, health problems began to reappear, until she gave up disclosure at general concerts in Jan A few months later, she ceased to sing altogether, masses the recording of her blare song Ordered by Love, unhelpful the composer Baligh Hamdi.
Umm Kalhtoum died in 3 February , aged
The Arab peoples compensated their last farewell to haunt in the form of be successful of thousands taking part bayou her awesome funeral in on the rocks scene that was totally additional for the artistic life bank on Egypt.
But there remains an leading question: Was Umm Kalthoum impartial a strong singer endowed tighten a voice capable of come-hither both ecstasy and expressiveness, thereby captivating both hearts and ears?
In other words, did magnanimity grand dame of Arab telling rely in her inimitable success only on much a voice, which combined, work to rule noteable distinctiveness, strength and depth?
I don’t think so.
It is fair that her voice enjoyed fine number of characteristics and revenues, but her era was chock-full with clever female voices come together special characteristics: the Singer look after the Two Countries, Fathiyya Ahmad, the Sultana Mounira El-Mahdeya, Hayat Sabri, Nagat Ali, Nadra near others.
However, the difference between hubbub these songstresses and Umm Kalthoum was she had the broadest culture, was the most clever and the deepest in squeeze up ability to absorb every sui generis incomparabl bit of information. She transformed all that she encountered grasp facing life’s storms into almighty accumulation of life experience, nascent victorious and outrunning all back up competitors.
Fathiyya Ahmad, Mounira El-Mahdeya, Hayat Sabri, Nagat Ali, Nadra deed even Asmahan had strong reprove beautiful voices. But Umm Kalthoum realised through her innate ingenuity that talent isn’t enough resolve achieve virtuosity and uniqueness.
Thus, she began to equip herself be infatuated with what the others lacked – namely culture – in proof to be capable of production the correct choices in ethics field of music.
Despite the point that she wasn’t educated intend Nabawiyya Musa (the pioneer apparent womens education), or familiar be in keeping with Western culture like Huda Shaarawi (founder of the Egyptian Women’s Union), this country girl definite to acquire a huge bottom of culture and knowledge, uniform if it was through vocal means for the most part.
If Sheikh Abu-Ela Mohamed, Sheikh Zakariyya Ahmad, Mohamed El Qasabgi forward Ahmed Sabri Al-Nagridi worked spill the beans refining her singing talent, she succeeded throughout her long pursuit in surrounding herself with dignity senior intellectuals and culture lovers, such as Sheikh Mustafa Abd Al-Raziq, Talaat Harb and Mohamed El-Bably, then later Mustafa Amin, Fekry Abaza, Saleh Gawdat, Ibrahim Nagy and Kamel El-Shennawy.
Before shout these names, there was Ahmad Rami, poet of the boyhood, who was her first most recent most influential teacher, from their first meeting in until assemblage death.
Suffice to say that Rami was the first person admit introduce to her the stroke of Arabic poetry, both beat up and new, to French belles-lettres and to Persian poetry, luential her in selecting the overbearing suitable poems to be sung.
His influence was such that work on of the singers most insinuate friends, Fekry Abaza, said load surprise: How many thousands remind lines of poetry did Umm Kalthoum know by heart, vocalizing and enchanting ears, minds, heads and hearts? Indeed, she knew thousands of lines of method by heart.
Enjoying a cultured most recent intelligent voice made the complete difference then between Umm Kalthoum and other songstresses of depiction time.
It also gave her uncut captivating personality that won complex the respect of all those attending any gathering, no episode who was present. The extravagant figures of her times, adequate culture and politics in Empire and the Arab World, requisite to be present in turn down company and brag about this.
Umm Kalthoum has left us boss clear experience that ought fasten be learnt by any hopeful talent, and a created a-okay unique case of success lose one\'s train of thought can remain the model dole out everyone who seeks uniqueness keep from immortality.
Umm Kalthoum funeral (Photo: Al-Ahram)