Shams el Assil (2nd paragraph) June 7, 1956

I don't know why I am in "Shams el Assil" mood these days!!! It might have to something to do with the beginning of the beautiful weather here in Canada (lots of sunshine these days, don't want to jinx it though).

True it is a great song (this qualifier seems to apply to all Oum Kasloum's songs prior to the 1960s), but Kalsoumoholics usually won't indicate this song among their top favourites. Yet, there is something whimsical about it, and I think that it transports you into the setting that Bayram describes in the lyrics. Whatever it is, I have been listening to almost every performance of this song in my possession lately.

Here I present the second paragraph, i.e the one following the opening that I posted last week, but from an earlier concert (less than 2 weeks actually). The whole performance is great, and I will be uploading more of it in the future.
In this paragraph, Oum Kalsoum compares the purity of her relationship with her lover to that of the Nile. Again, Oum Kalsoum did not improvise melodic lines in this paragraph, yet she made some astonishing colourful variations on the word "safaq" (purity) @ 1:34, 2:36, 5:33, 6:06 (wonderful)
hawak (1:50, 2:08, 3:05, 3:24, 6:36 and 6:51 (last two miraculously beautiful)
Also notice how she inflames the audience when she says "you (Nile) and we (my lover and I) are unmatched in beauty at 4:32.

Stunning rendition!

Opening of Shams el Assil 18-6-1956

Here is a an excerpt of a song that I have been continuously listening to over the last week. I have listened to 4 different performances and all of them are wonderful and unique, and hence it was difficult to choose what to upload.
Knowing that I will end up uploading all parts that transport me into an ecstatic state, I chose for this week the opening of the song from a concert held to celebrate departure of the last English troops from Egypt. President Gamal Abd el Nasser had invited representatives of Arab and Western nations to attend this concert.


Shams el Assil translates into "Sunset" and the song is a portrayal of the sunset over the Nile written by the famous colloquial poet Bayram El Tounsi. The music is composed by Riad el Sombati.
The lyrics translate into (forgive my poor translation skills):
The sunset turned into gold the leaves of the palm trees, O Nile
a masterpiece portrayed in your album O beautiful

And the flute sang on the banks
And the bodies swang
when the fresh breeze passed swiftly O Nile

(the last 3 lines are the chorus and start after the ad lib singing)

Although there are no improvisations in this excerpt, I am mesmerized by the sound quality: it almost feels like you're sitting in the front row of the Army Club where the concert was held. To be able to experience this is a dream that every Kalsoumholic has, particularly since the overwhelming majority of Oum Kalsoum's recordings during her golden years are of mediocre quality. So, this is how Oum Kalsoum sounded in her 50s, a voice of full blown maturity and control.

Notice her miraculous vibrattos at 1:59 and 3:04; how she whispers the word "touhfa" (masterpiece) at 2:01, making the difficult and rather rough letter "h" coming out of her mouth softly and effortlessly. Notice how she breaks her voice at the word "gamil" (beaiutiful) at 3:30 to picture the breathtaking beauty of the Nile.

Also notice the predominance of the flute in the chorus as of 4:35. The composer wants to match the music to the lyrics and he gave the flute a wonderful role that is simultaneously obvious and subtle. The whole chorus music makes you wanna swing, exactly like the lyrics picture the people swinging to the sound of the flute playing on the banks of the Nile at sunset...and Oum extends and breaks the vowel "i" in "betmil" (swing) to illustrate the movement @ 4:51 and 5:15.
I also like how she plays with the Arabic letter "h" "ح" in both words "houboub" and "hawa" where she switches between the correct pronunciation as she delivers it the first time and one that sounds more like "gh" "غ" as in "hawa" at 5:34 and 5:38. I don't know why she plays with this letter as such, and she does it often in her songs. I have been told that the correct delivery of the Arabic letter "h" "ح" in a song expels a lot of air from the lung, which could compromise the breath control of the singer and that involving the epiglottis and tongue to produce the sound "gh" "غ" spares some air. But I find it also very amusing and interesting that she employs this technique mostly with one word "hawa" in all her songs, which beside meaning breeze or wind, also means "love". On the other hand, "ghawa" with the "غ" means flirting and seduction in Arabic. In a predominantly sexually repressed Arab society, subtle sexual allusions were often employed in vocal art, particularly since in the context of this song, Oum is comparing the beauty of the Nile to the beauty of the love she's experiencing with her lover. Subtle sexual references are also used in the addition of the word "ah" before "ya nile" at 5:51 and 5:58 and the raising of the pitch at the letter "i" in "alil" (fresh) at 6:06 and "Nile" at 6:08. Finally listen the cadence of the closure from 6:11 til the end. This cadence, which is termed "qafla" or "closure" in Arabic music, is one of the most difficult parts of a singing rendition and its execution requires great vocal control in order to avoid faultering. Oum Kalsoum was renown for her complete mastering of this skill.

Enjoy:)

Excerpt of "ana fi intidharak" March 3, 1955

This is an excerpt of "ana fi intidharak" (I'm waiting for you) as performed on the night of March 3, 1955. This song is very special to me because it was the first Oum Kalsoum song I had ever heard (back in the Spring of 1993). However, this performance is different from the commercial (which is amazing as well). The difference is in the section where Oum Kalsoum displays her creative improvisations. In this approx. 18 min excerpt, Oum Kalsoum focuses on the verse "at'alleb 'ala gamr ennar w' atsharrad waya el afkar" (I roll over burning charcoals and I wander with my thoughts), which is a metaphor for her passionate and painful awaiting for her lover and his haunting image. The haunting theme is very well illustrated by her repetitions of the stance "w atsharrad wayya el efkar (I wander with my thoughts).

What is remarkable in this impro is the creation of a whole new melodic line on the aforementioned stance that becomes the focal point of the whole impros. Now. I will guide you through the highlights of the impro:

the first 40 sec are the original melody of the verse as set by the composer Zakariyya Ahmad

@ 1:53 Oum returns to the original melody, but is interrupted by the audience who shows appreciation, a positive feedback to extend the impros.

@ 2:25 The melodic line "wayya el afkar" (with the thoughts) will become the focal point of the whole impros: Oum will repeat it over and over, move away and return to it.

@ 2:40 this melodic line inflames the audience, another sign that it needs to be exploited

@ 2:50 the orchestra seals the deal by translating the melodic line performed by Oum on their instruments, thereby giving the impression that this is the original melody of the verse (I should point out here that Oum Kalsoum's instrumentalists play without musical notes because it is useless when a performance is based on impros; she had behind her the most accomplished instrumentalists of Egypt, and this contributed tremendously to her success and the quality of her performances )

@ 4:34 the orchestra helps Oum establish the mood of the impros by reiterating the melodic line; thereafter Oum will always have a point of return to this melody.

@ 5:00 note the percussions and the variations on the word "at'alleb" (I roll)

@ 6:16 She adds the pronoun "ana" (I) to the verb "at'alleb" (roll) (In Arabic one doesn't need to place the subject before the verb because the verb is conjugated in such a way to show who the subject is), so her addition emphasizes her personal experience and suffering. The accompaniment by the percussionist is amazing as metric impros are among the most difficult (note how she breaks the sentence, and the percussionist assists her in this).

@ 7:07 returns to the focal melody of the impros in a way that is effortless

@ 7:42 her emphasis on "ana at'alleb" (I roll) takes the audience by force

@ 8:08 Oum returns to the original melody of the verse (but the impros are far from being over)

@ 9:04 a new verse "ennesma a'hsibha khoutak w el hamsa a'hsibha loghak" (I hear your steps with the breeze and your voice in any whisper) "'ala kida asba'ht w amset w shafouni w 'alou tganneit" (as such I spent my days and whoever saw me said she lost her mind)

she repeats the second stance "ala kida...." 5 times with a small extension and pause at the word word "tganneit" (lost her mind) at 10:02 that changes the rhythm without disturbing it and that inflames the audience, causing her to stop and reiterates impros from I roll over burning charcoal

@ 11:18 she raises her pitch at the impros of "at'allab" to emphasize the suffering. Note the beautiful strings of the zither (cithare) and how the luth is setting the rhythm in these non-metric impros

@ 12:32 the way she utters "al hamsa" (whisper) is exactly like a whisper, which inflames the audience

@ 12:59 note the beautiful percussions

@ 13:13 note the stong strings of the luth

@ 13:30 the percussionist predicts what she is about to do and set her return to the focal improvised melody (which isn't anymore improvised by the way)

@ 14:00 somebody utters "Allah" (oh God), most likely a totally ecstatic member of her orchestra

@ 14:11 re-emphasis on "ana at'alleb" (I roll)

@ 15:52 effortless return to the original melody and end of improvisation.

N.B: comments/additions are most welcome.