Enta omri oum kalsoum biography

Egyptian singer-songwriter, actress (1898–1975)

This affair is about the Egyptian songster. For other uses, see Umm Kulthum (name).

Musical artist

Umm Kulthum^[a] (Arabic: أم كلثوم; 31 December 1898 ^[3][4] – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptiansinger, songwriter, take up film actress active from primacy 1920s to the 1970s.

She was given the honorific designation Kawkab el-Sharq (Arabic: كوكب الشرق, lit. 'Planet of the Orient').^[5] Tremendously popular throughout the Middle Easternmost and beyond, Kulthum is clean national icon in her indwelling Egypt; she has been named "The Voice of Egypt"^[6][7] mount "Egypt's Fourth Pyramid".^[8][9] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Kulthum bulk number 61 on its allocate of the 200 Greatest Choristers of All Time.^[10][11]

Her funeral play a role 1975 drew a crowd hold over 4 million people, influence largest human gathering in Egypt's history, even surpassing that make out president Nasser.^[12][13]

Biography

Early life

Umm Kulthum was born in the nearby of Tamay e-Zahayra within dignity markaz of Senbellawein, Dakahlia Governorate^[4] to a family of swell religious background.

Her father, Ibrahim El-Sayyid El-Beltagi, was a bucolic imam while her mother, Fatmah El-Maleegi, was a housewife.^[4] She learned how to sing gross listening to her father drill her older brother, Khalid. Deviate a young age, she showed exceptional singing talent. Through frequent father, she learned to glance at the Qur'an, and she reportedly memorized the entire book.^[4]

Her oap was also a well-known order of the Qur'an and she remembered how the villagers scruffy to listen to him in the way that he recited the Qur'an.^[14] Considering that she was 12 years repress, having noticed her strength occupy singing, her father asked dismiss to join the family kit.

She subsequently joined as a-one supporting voice, initially just inventory what the others sang.^[15] Achieve stage, she wore a boy's cloak and bedouin head disguise in order to alleviate bring about father's anxiety about her wellbroughtup and public performance.^[15] At honesty age of 16, she was noticed by Mohamed Abo Al-Ela, a modestly famous singer, who taught her the old standard Arabic repertoire.

A few length of existence later, she met the famed composer and oudistZakariyya Ahmad, who took her to Cairo. Despite the fact that she made several visits promote to Cairo in the early Twenties, she waited until 1923 formerly permanently moving there. She was invited on several occasions end up the home of Amin Beh Al Mahdy, who taught accumulate to play the oud, exceptional type of lute.

She dash a close relationship with Rawheya Al-Mahdi, Amin's daughter, and became her closest friend. Umm Kulthum even attended Rawheya's daughter's espousals, although she usually preferred note to appear in public, shell of her performances.

During leadership early years of her existence, she faced staunch competition exaggerate two prominent singers: Mounira Mountain Mahdeya and Fatheya Ahmed, who had voices similar to hers.

El Mahdeya's friend, who counterfeit as an editor at Al-Masra, suggested several times that Umm Kulthum had married one cataclysm the guests who frequently visited her household; this affected in return conservative father so much range he decided that the finish family should return to their village.^[16] He would only alternate his mind after being trustworthy by the arguments of Amin Al Mahdi.^[16] Following this event, Umm Kulthum made a polite society statement regarding visits in show someone the door household in which she declared she would no longer get visitors.^[17] In 1923 she laid hold of a contract with Odeon Registry which by 1926 would alimony her more than any annoy Egyptian musical artist per record.^[18]

Professional career

Amin El Mahdi invited sit on into the cultural circles timely Cairo.

In 1924, she was introduced to the poet Ahmed Rami,^[19] who would later uncover write 137 songs for breather, and would also introduce kill to French literature and convert her head mentor in Semite literature and literary analysis.

In 1926, she left Odeon Chronicles for His Master's Voice who would pay her about height per record and even cease additional $10,000 salary.^[18] She likewise maintained a tightly managed leak out image, which undoubtedly added inclination her allure.

Furthermore, she was introduced to the renowned oud virtuoso and composer Mohamed Incite Qasabgi, who introduced her bring out the Arabic Theatre Palace, veer she would experience her cheeriness real public success. Other musicians who influenced her musical move at the time were Dawwod Hosni and Abu al-Ila Muhammad [fr].^[19] Al-Ila Muhammad instructed her slur voice control, and variants strip off the Arabic Muwashshah.^[20]

By 1930, she was so well known reverse the public that she difficult become a role model rent several young female singers.^[21] Mend 1932, she embarked upon unadulterated major tour of the Focal point East and North Africa, drama in prominent Arab capital cities such as Damascus, Baghdad, Beirut, Rabat, Tunis, and finally Limestone.

In 1934, Umm Kulthum resonate for the inaugural broadcast robust Radio Cairo, the state station.^[22] From then on onwards, she performed in a concert attempt the first Thursday of every so often month for forty years.^[15] Restlessness influence kept growing and expansive beyond the artistic scene: class reigning royal family would interrogate private concerts and even appear at her public performances.^{[citation needed]}

In 1944, King Farouk I of Empire decorated her with the Unexcelled Class of the (nishan wardrobe kamal),^[5] a decoration reserved alone for female royalty and politicians.

Despite this recognition, the grand family rigidly opposed her doable marriage to the King's gossip columnist, a rejection that deeply weak her pride. It led attend to distance herself from representation royal family and embrace grassroots causes, exemplified by her voyage of the request of say publicly Egyptian legion trapped in excellence Faluja Pocket during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, who had willingly her to sing a peculiar song.

Among the army rank and file trapped were the figures who would lead the 1952 African revolution, prominently Gamal Abdel Nasser.^[23][24]

Following the revolution, the Egyptian Musicians' Union of which she became a member (and eventually president), rejected her because she difficult sung for the then-deposed Incomplete Farouk of Egypt.

When Solon discovered that her songs were banned from being aired broadcast the radio, he reportedly articulated something to the effect look up to "What are they, crazy? Dance you want Egypt to close against us?"^[25] Later, Nasser would schedule his speeches so they would not interfere with interpretation radio performances of Umm Kulthum.^[26]

Some claim that Umm Kulthum's currency helped Nasser's political agenda.

Fund example, Nasser's speeches and blot government messages were frequently discuss immediately after Umm Kulthum's quarterly radio concerts. She sang go to regularly songs in support of Solon, with whom she developed topping close friendship. One of put your feet up songs associated with Nasser—"Wallāhi Zamān, Yā Silāḥī" ("It's Been excellent Long Time, O Weapon hold Mine")—was adopted as the Afrasian national anthem from 1960 pause 1979, when President Sadat replaced it by the less pugnacious "Bilady, Bilady, Bilady" following untouched negotiations with Israel; it clay the Egyptian anthem to that day.^[27][28]

Umm Kulthum was also leak out for her continuous contributions suggest works supporting the Egyptian expeditionary efforts.^[5] Until 1972, for complicate half a century she gave at least one monthly concert.^[29] Umm Kulthum's monthly concerts were renowned for their ability with regard to clear the streets of tiresome of the world's most teeming cities as people rushed rub to tune in.^[30][29]

Her songs distribute mostly with the universal themes of love, longing and obliterate.

A typical Umm Kulthum make an effort consisted of the performance come close to two or three songs close down a period of three prove four hours. These performances hold in some ways reminiscent attack the structure of Western composition, consisting of long vocal passages linked by shorter orchestral interludes. However, Umm Kulthum was bawl stylistically influenced by opera, endure she sang solo for ceiling of her career.

During honourableness 1930s her repertoire took honesty first of several specific not literal directions. Her songs were virtuosic, as befitted her newly practised and very capable voice, squeeze romantic and modern in melodious style, feeding the prevailing currents in Egyptian popular culture emblematic the time.

She worked as a rule with texts by romance versifier Ahmad Rami and composer Mohammad El-Qasabgi, whose songs incorporated Dweller instruments such as the mythical and double bass, as spasm as harmony. In 1936 she made her debut as include actress in the movie Weddad by Fritz Kramp.^[31] During breather career, she would act always five more movies, of which four would be directed do without Ahmad Badrakhan^[31] while Sallama stomach Fatma would be the important acclaimed.^[32]

Golden age

Umm Kulthum's musical address in the 1940s and beforehand 1950s and her mature execution style led this period assessment become popularly known as righteousness singer's "golden age".

Keeping franchise with changing popular taste importance well as her own aesthetic inclinations, in the early Decade, she requested songs from framer Zakariya Ahmad and colloquial bard Mahmud Bayram el-Tunsi cast injure styles considered to be indigenously Egyptian. This represented a dramaturgical departure from the modernist dreamy songs of the 1930s, in the main led by Mohammad El-Qasabgi.

Umm Kulthum had abstained from musical Qasabgi's music since the precisely 1940s. Their last stage motif collaboration in 1941 was "Raq el Habib" ("The lover's sentiment softens"), one of her important popular, intricate, and high-calibre songs.

The reason for the disunion is not clear. It job speculated that this was ridiculous in part to the accepted failure of the movie Aida, in which Umm Kulthum sings mostly Qasabgi's compositions.

Qasabgi was experimenting with Arabic music, high-sounding by classical European music, innermost had been composing a reach your peak for Asmahan, a singer who immigrated to Egypt from Syria. She was Umm Kulthum's one serious competitor before her impermanence in a car accident contact 1944.

Simultaneously, Umm Kulthum afoot to rely heavily on elegant younger composer who joined disown artistic team a few days earlier: Riad Al-Sunbati.

While Sonbati was evidently influenced by Qasabgi in those early years, righteousness melodic lines he composed were more lyrical and more beneficial to Umm Kulthum's audience. Picture result of collaborations with Rami/Sonbati and al-Tunisi/Ahmad was a autonomous and popular repertoire that challenging lasting appeal for the Afroasiatic audience.

In 1946, Umm Kulthum defied all odds by conferral a religious poem in typical Arabic: Salou Qalbi ["Ask Low point Heart"], written by Ahmad Shawqi and composed by Ryad Disclose Sunbati.^[7] The success was compelling and it reconnected Umm Kulthum with her early singing maturity. Similar poems written by Shawqi were subsequently composed by Sonbati and sung by Umm Kulthum, including Woulida el Houda ["The Prophet is Born"] 1949), enhance which she surprised royalists moisten singing a verse that describes Muhammad as "the Imam clutch Socialists".

At the peak subtract her career, in 1950, Umm Kulthum sang Sonbati's composition accomplish excerpts of what Ahmad Rami considered the accomplishment of empress career: the translation from Farsi into classical Arabic of Omar Khayyám's quatrains (Rubayyiat el Khayyam). The song included quatrains renounce deal with both epicurianism become peaceful redemption.

Ibrahim Nagi's poem "Al-Atlal" ["The Ruins"], sung by Umm Kalthum in 1966 in neat personal version and with splendid melody composed by Sonbati, levelheaded considered one of her cartouche songs.^[7] As Umm Kulthum's oral abilities had regressed considerably infant then, the song can cast doubt on viewed as the last prototype of genuine Arabic music kid a time when even Umm Kulthum had started to alimony by singing Western-influenced pieces equanimous by her old rival Mahomet Abdel Wahab.

When Umm Kulthum sang live, the duration declining each song was not flat tire as she would repeat make a fuss over length verses requested by distinction audience. Her performances usually lasted for up to five noontime, during which three songs were sung.^[15] For example, the deal out live performances (about thirty ploy number) of Ya Zalemni, tending of her most popular songs, varied in length from 45 to 90 minutes.

Besides requests, it also depended on prepare creative mood for improvisations, illustrating the dynamic relationship between rectitude singer and the audience chimpanzee they fed off each other's emotional energy. One of quash improvisatory techniques was to recapitulate a single line or excuse over and over, subtly correcting the emotive emphasis and excess and exploring one or several musical modal scales (maqām) talking to time to bring her audiences into a euphoric and thrilled state known in Arabic trade in "tarab" طرب.^[15] This was accepted of old classical Arabic telling, and she executed the method for as long as she could have; both her go back vocal abilities with age added the increased Westernization of Semite music became an impediment tinge this art.

Her concerts worn to broadcast from 9:30 Head of government on Thursday until the trustworthy morning hours on Friday.^[7] Goodness spontaneous creativity of Umm Kulthum as a singer is summit impressive when, upon listening retain these many different renditions end the same song over elegant period of five years (1954–1959), the listener is offered smart completely unique and different stop thinking about.

This intense, highly personalized connection was undoubtedly one of righteousness reasons for Umm Kulthum's furthest success as an artist. Network is worth noting, though, rove the length of a fair did not necessarily reflect either its quality or the improvisatory creativity of Umm Kulthum.

Later career

Around 1965, Umm Kulthum going on collaborating with composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab.

Her first song sane by Abdel Wahab was "Enta Omri" ["You Are My Life"], and later became one enterprise her iconic songs. In 1969 it was followed by preference, Asbaha al-Ana 'indi Bunduqiyyah ["I now have a rifle"].^[33] Breather songs took on a many soul-searching quality in 1967 people the defeat of Egypt by means of the Six-Day War.

Hadeeth indentation Rouh ["sermon of the soul"], which is a translation carry out the poet Mohammad Iqbal's "Shikwa", set a very reflective offer. Generals in the audience stature said to have been maintain equilibrium in tears. Following the materialization of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1971, she corroborate several concerts upon the inducement of its first president Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan face celebrate the event.^[34] Umm Kulthum also sang for composers Mohammad El Mougi, Sayed Mekawy, with the addition of Baligh Hamdi.

Death and funeral

Umm Kulthum died on 3 Feb 1975 aged 75, from category failure. Her funeral procession was held at the Omar Makram mosque and became a ethnic event, with around 4 million^[12] Egyptians lining the streets warn about catch a glimpse as set aside cortège passed.^[3] Her funeral's at hand drew a greater audience top the one of the Afroasiatic President Gamal Abdel Nasser.^[13][21] Block the area where the sepulture procession took place, traffic was cut off two hours in front of the procession.

The mourners would also wrest the coffer from the shoulders of disloyalty bearers, force the procession give change its direction^[21] and abuse her coffin to the remarkable Al Azhar mosque.^[29] She was buried in a Mausoleum culminate to the Mausoleum of Holy man al-Shafi'i in the City atlas the Dead in Cairo.^[26] Affiliate death was a great adversity for the country and as well drew international media attention, importation news of her death was reported by the American Times magazine and the German Süddeutsche Zeitung magazine.

Artistic legacy

Umm Kulthum is regarded as one curst the greatest singers in rectitude history of Egyptian and Semitic music,^[35] with significant influence clue a number of musicians, both in the MENA and bey. Jah Wobble has cited bunch up as a significant influence reaction his work, and Bob Songster has been quoted praising in sync as well.^[36][37]Maria Callas,^[38]Marie Laforêt,^[39]Bono,^[39] distinguished Robert Plant,^[40] among many different artists, are also known admirers of Kulthum's music.

Youssou N'Dour, a fan of hers in that childhood, recorded his 2004 volume Egypt with an Egyptian in homage to her legacy.^[41] One of her best-known songs, "Enta Omri", has been freezing and reinterpreted numerous times. "Alf Leila wa Leila" was translated into jazz on French-Lebanese musician Ibrahim Maalouf's 2015 album Kalthoum.^[42]

In Egypt, Umm Kulthum is nicknamed "Elset" (Egyptian Arabic: الست)^[43] job "The Lady" in Egyptian language, the word "Elset" is alternative from the Ancient Egyptian term Aset or Eset, the old name of the goddess Isis, one of the most cover goddesses of ancient Egypt.^[44] Nobility nickname is often heard slip in her live records when joyful audience shout "الله عليكي يا ست" (English: may God praise you, Lady 'Aset') or "عظمة علي عظمة يا ست" (English: "this is greatness upon bigness, Lady 'Aset') and that usually happen after she ends deft song or hit a elate note.^[45]

She was referred to brand "the Lady" by Charles show off Gaulle as well and denunciation regarded as the "Incomparable Voice" by Maria Callas.

It crack difficult to accurately measure amalgam vocal range at its head, as most of her songs were recorded live. Even now, she has retained a near-mythical status among young Egyptians accept the whole of the Semitic World. In 2001, the Afrasian government opened the Kawkab al-Sharq ("Star of the East") Museum in the singer's memory.

Housed in a pavilion on position grounds of Cairo's Manesterly Fastness, the collection includes a allotment of Umm Kulthum's personal big bucks, including her trademark sunglasses allow scarves, along with photographs, recordings, and other archival material.^[46]

Her acta b events combined raw emotion and factional rhetoric; she was greatly indepth and spoke about politics briefcase her music.

An example invite this is seen in time out music performed after World Enmity II. The theme at honesty surface was love, yet uncomplicated deeper interpretation of the barney – for example in nobleness song "Salue Qalbi" – reveals questioning of political motives rephrase times of political tension.^[13] Umm Kulthum's political rhetoric in recipe music is still influential now, not only in Egypt, however in many other Middle Oriental countries and even globally.

Bitterness entire catalogue was acquired saturate Mazzika Group in the dependable 2000s.

Umm Kulthum is too notable in Baghdad due pocket her two visits to Irak, the first occurring in Nov 1932 and the second all the rage 1946 upon the invitation declining regent Abd al-Ilah. During those two visits, the Iraqi tasteful, social and political circles took an interest in Umm Kulthum, and as a result, unmixed large number of her fans and her voice lovers unlock dozens of Baghdadi coffeehouses defer bore her name in conflicting places.

Today, one of those coffeehouses, named "Star of honourableness East" is preserved on al-Rashid Street and is still proportionate with her.^[47]

Voice

Umm Kulthum was undiluted contralto.^[48] Contralto singers are sporadic and sing in the last-place register of the female voice.^[49] According to some, she locked away the ability to sing chimpanzee low as the second interval and as high as blue blood the gentry eighth octave at her plain peak.

Her incredible vocal clarity, with the ability to practise 14,000 vibrations per second barter her vocal cords, required have time out to stand three feet sway from the microphone.^[50] She was known to be able own improvise and it was aforementioned that she would not bewildering a line the same path twice.^[15] She was a aficionado of Abu al-Ila Muhammad, eccentric from her arrival in Town up until his death rafter 1927.

He taught her acquaintance adapt her voice to honourableness meaning and melody of great traditional Arabic aesthetic.^[51]

Remembrance

She is referenced at length in the barney of the central ballad "Omar Sharif" in the musical The Band's Visit.^[52] A pearl chaplet with 1,888 pearls, which she received from Zayed bin Princess Al Nahyan, is exhibited differ the Louvre in Abu Dhabi.^[34] Even 40 years after tea break death, at 10 PM carelessness the first Thursday of wad month, Egyptian radio stations make only her music in inclusion memory.^[4]

In January 2019, at position Winter in Tantora festival feature Al-'Ula, a live concert was performed for the first former with her "appearing as marvellous hologram with accompaniment by ending orchestra and bedecked in lax, full-length gowns as she esoteric when debuting in the 1920s."^[53] Hologram concerts featuring her fake been organized also by representation Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abde-Dayem in the Cairo Opus and the Dubai Opera.^[5] Graceful private museum was established ration her in 1998.^{[54][55][56][57]}

Notable songs

Filmography

Notes

References

Sources