Hello fellow readers and welcome to my blog "Oum Kalsoum: The Star of the East":
As its name indicates, this blog is dedicated to Oum Kalsoum (circa 1900 - 1975) (also pronounced and spelled Umm Kulthum), known as the Star of the East (Kawkab E'Sharq), the Diva of Arabic singing (Sayyiedat el Ghina' el 'Arabi), the Nightingale of the Nile (Karawan E' Nil).
The idea of creating this blog has been flirting with my thoughts for a long time, but I must admit I lack time and resources (computer literacy) to put my vision into action. I owe it to my cousin Gaby, an internet geek, and ironically, not an Oum Kalsoum fan at all, to talk me into creating this blog.
So, let's start with a little bit of a background:
Why Oum Kalsoum?
Most people who are reading this blog already know who Oum Kalsoum is and why I would choose to blog about her. But, for those who don't or those who would like to know more, Oum Kalsoum was unequivocally the most popular Arab singer in the 20th century. Virginia Danielson, curator of the Archive of World Music and keeper of Isham Memorial Library at Harvard University, and author of the book "The Voice of Egypt" describes Oum Kalsoum in these words: "Imagine a singer with the virtuosity of Joan Sutherland or Ella Fitzgerald, the public persona of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis Presley, and you have Umm Kulthum, the most accomplished singer of her century in the Arab world".
It is really this combination of of vocal prowess, creativity and charisma that made Umm Kulthum the leading Arab singer of the 20th century. Undeniably, there are other beautiful, perhaps more beautiful voices that were contemporary to Umm Kulthum, most notably Asmahan and Fairuz. Asmahan's tragic death at an early age in 1944 left speculations of what the artistic scene would have been had she lived. Fairuz, a Lebanese singer with a resounding angelic voice, had her artistic career shaped by her husband and brother-in-law, the Rahbani Brothers, crafting a totally different musical style from the prevalent Egyptian one. Fairuz and the Rahbani Brothers reaped tremendous success and popularity as a result of this alternative style. However, both Asmahan and Fairuz lacked (or failed to nurture and display) one of the most essential assets to genuine Arabic singing: the ability to be melodically and vocally creative with any given composition.
Until the 2nd third of the 20th century, Arabic singing relied very little on written compositions; barely was musical annotation even used. The "job" of the composer was to define the skeleton (mode or maqam) of the melody to be sung, but it was up to the singer to elaborate and add, feeding on his/her mood and the reaction and encouragement of the audience. The craftsmanship of the singer, more than the beauty of his/her voice, was a determinant of his/her success and popularity.
It is not the objective of this blog to study traditional Arabic music, and honestly, my knowledge in this area is very limited. For those interested in learning more about classical Oriental music, I would strongly encourage you to visit http://zamanalwasl.net/forums/index.php. This forum deals exclusively with classical Oriental music with emphasis on Arabic music. It contains sections related to regional music (Middle Eastern, North African, Persian, Turkish etc...) and a whole section on Oum Kalsoum, but its main focus is the "nahda" musical era of Egypt (1904-1934). This period describes the heritage of classical Egyptian vocal art when the phonograph was introduced into Egypt at the turn of the century. (1904) Then, the leading vocalists, such as Abd el Hay Hilmi, Yusuf el Manyalawi, Sallama Higazi and others, recorded traditional musical genres (dawr, mouashah, qasida, mouwwal) composed by Abdo el Hamuli, Muhammad 'Othman, and other prominent artists of the 19th century. These recordings illustrate the craftsmanship I referred to above as one could witness how a single song can be treated differently by different performers, and even by the same performer in a different recording. Many mainstream musical critics, ironically Arabs, condescend this style of music and singing, characterizing it as "unrefined". In their opinion, Arabic music revolution was initiated at the end of the 2nd decade of the 20th century by Sayyid Darwish (1892-1923), and continued (even completed) predominantly by Mohammad Abd el Wahab (1902-1991). I, and many others, do not agree with this view because we do not see that westernization of Arabic music is the inevitable path to refinement and evolution. While I do believe in cultural cross-talks and influences, I also believe that the authenticity of cultural heritage should always shine through these influences and not be masked by them. Good counter-examples to Abd el Wahab are Muhammad el Qasabgi, Zakariyya Ahmad and Riad el Sombati, who were the main composers of Oum Kalsoum songs. Surrounded by these genuises of melodies, Oum Kalsoum played a major role in transitioning Arabic singing from classical to popular. As such, she is often referred to as the ultimate heiress of classical Arabic singing that relies on the craftsmanship of improvisation. However, Oum Kalsoum's singing style changed throughout her life; particularly, the last quarter of her career (1960-1973) witnessed a reduction in the occurrence and extent of improvised segments during her performances, mainly due to declining vocal abilities and changing trends in musical taste. Her collaboration with Muhammad Abd el Wahab starting 1964 with the song Inta Omri (You are my life) is considered by many as the beginning of the steep downhill of her artistic career. This song, along with similar others that followed it, achieved tremendous popular success. Thus, it appears that Oum Kalsoum, who was renown for her wit and perspicacity, sacrificed her loyalty to her musical heritage for the sake of her popularity, and she certainly succeeded: nowadays, her most popular (but certainly not her most valuable) repertoire is constituted of songs from that period. If appropriately exploited, this phenomenon could be turned into an opportunity, which is one of the objectives I would like to achieve with this blog: showcase Oum Kalsoum's true genius through excerpts of unique performances.
This is a tremendous task, and I acknowledge it might not have the impact I wish; therefore, I wanted the other objective of this blog to be purely personal; something I can derive satisfaction from simply by pouring my soul in it. Not a single day of my life passes without listening to Oum Kalsoum. Surprised, people ask me how I find time to listen to songs varying in length from a few minutes to over an hour. The answer is simple: I trained myself to listen to Oum Kalsoum. For a novice, especially someone who doesn't understand the language, it is next to impossible to play Oum Kalsoum while driving, working out, or simply as a background sound. She is too overwhelming!!! Appreciating Oum Kalsoum does not come naturally...it is a process and it requires investment: investment of time and investment of senses. But the reward is priceless: a musical experience that is completely ecstatic, simultaneously spiritual and sensual. Personally, I can't fathom a better musical experience than one where even a spontaneous, barely audible break in the voice or emphasis on a syllable can make you swing in enchantment and cause an uproar in the carefully listening audience. Thus, in this blog, I want to record and share with you, fellow readers, my thoughts and emotions as I experience Oum Kalsoum's singing.
Before I plunge into this rather ambitious journey, I want to note that most of the commercially available live recordings of Oum Kalsoum are devoid of what best characterized her performances: improvisation. I don't know why such is the case! We have many performances of the same song, but it is almost always the least interesting version that is commercialized!!! Fortunately, over this past decade, and thankfully to " idha'at el Aghani " (Station of Songs) in Cairo, many recordings, buried in the archives of the Voice of Cairo, were broadcasted. In addition, many collectors came forward with their valued rare recordings and started sharing them. With the advances in recording technology, most of these recordings have been digitalized (to various degrees of clarity and quality) and posted on websites such as http://zamanalwasl.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=50 and http://www.sama3y.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=54. Access to these websites requires registration (free).
While I strongly believe that a true Oum Kalsoum experience requires building the tension towards the climactic segment of the song, I recognize that this might not be realistic in the context of this blog. So, I will focus almost exclusively on the climactic segments of the songs, bearing in mind that in certain instances, they can be quite lengthy:)
I hope I will learn quickly and efficiently how to upload excerpts so I can achieve the objectives of this blog.
