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360
Mall honors ‘Voice of the Arab World’; Umm Kulthoum, an eternal musical
icon “My father was uneasy. The idea that his daughter
should sing in front of men he didn’t know, was difficult for him to accept,
but my singing helped support the family. So he dressed me in boy’s clothes,
and I sang this way for several years. I realize now that he wanted to convince
himself, and the audience too, that the singer was a young boy, and not a young
woman.” “She is reborn again every morning in the hearts of millions. In the East, a day without Umm Kulthoum would
have no colour.” By
Rima A. Mneimneh Special to the Arab Times When sentimental verses written by prominent poets
are composed by talented composers and thereafter sung and performed regularly
on stage as one musical hit song after another conducted at the heart of one of
the most influential Arab capitals in the Arab world for two decades non-stop
and not waning or weakening, all that performed amidst tumultuous times that
pummeled the region and other parts of the world, that no doubt would comprise
a phenomenal and exceptional musical legacy.
She was a diva extraordinaire, blessed with an
exceptionally strong voice and charismatic presence acknowledged wherever she
appeared in the world. Her meticulous
choice of the verses she sang, the composers she collaborated with, even the
vast-numbered musical band that accompanied her together with her engaging
presence on stage had made her an everlasting and unrepeatable musical icon. The late Arab diva Umm Kulthoum (1904 -
1975), known as the “voice of the Arab world,” although her homeland was Egypt
yet she sang for the Arab world and was unanimously loved, respected and
admired during her lifetime and would remain so forever. Cherished Her cherished and recorded visits to many Arab
capitals and cities including Kuwait in the sixties were major events. She sang poems written by the renowned
Kuwaiti poet, writer of the words of the current Kuwaiti national anthem Ahmed
al-Odwani (1922-1990), which were entitled “Ya Darana ya Dar,” meaning “O Hail
our Land, our Homeland” and Ard al-Judoud” meaning “The Land of the
Forefathers.” In the first poem the
opening lines read “O hail our land, our Homeland/ The land of the free/ Its
sea has pearls/ And its land has gold/ O Hail the land, our homeland.” In a
unique compilation of English-language biography about Umm Kulthoum, Virginia
Danielson from Harvard University, chronicles the diva’s life, her amazing
musical career and her enormous and opulent Arabic musical legacy. Many Web sites cover the singer’s life and
her musical legacy extensively. In Kuwait, and collaborating with the Arab World
Institute in Paris — a foundation established to promote Arabic language and
the Arab world’s cultural heritage and spiritual values worldwide — an
exhibition, entitled “Umm Kulthoum: The Fourth Pyramid,” is being held from
July 8th until November 8th 2009 at the 360 Mall showcasing a diversity of
multimedia captions and video clips from her illustrious life and her outstanding
accomplishments, selected personal belongings, archived documents and
more. Glimpse A brief glimpse into the life of Umm Kulthoum based
on Danielson’s biography of the diva of over 250 pages commences with the
earliest years of her life until her demise.
Umm Kulthoum, or Fatima Ibrahim al-Baltaji, the youngest of three
children, was born in a small rural village to a poor family. Her father Sheikh
Ibrahim al-Sayyid al-Baltaji was the imam of the local mosque, and her mother,
Fatimah al-Maliji was a housewife. Her date of birth is not confirmed for
certain, but the most reliable date was 1904 based on her birth records
obtained from her birthplace of Tammay al-Zahayrah. She sang in the neighboring villages, all of
which were small, “The family house was a small one made of mud brick; they
owned no other property.” When she was
about five years old, Umm Kulthoum entered Al-Kuttab, or Qur’an school, in her
village then sent to Izbat al-Hawwal, several kilometers away. Umm Kulthuom remained a student there for
three years. In the rural school, Umm Kulthoum memorized sections of the Qur’an
and also may have acquired basic skills in reading and writing. Discovered Umm Kulthoum learned to sing from her father. She
overheard him teaching songs to her brother who accompanied his father at the
celebrations for which Sheikh Ibrahim sang.
Umm Kulthoum learned the songs by rote. When Sheikh Ibrahim discovered
what she had learned and heard the unusual strength of her voice, he asked her
to join the lessons. Because of her youth and exceptionally strong voice, the
child became an attraction for the group and eventually its premiere
singer. “My father was uneasy. The idea
that his daughter should sing in front of men he didn’t know, was difficult for
him to accept, but my singing helped support the family. So he dressed me in
boy’s clothes, and I sang this way for several years. I realize now that he
wanted to convince himself, and the audience too, that the singer was a young
boy, and not a young woman,” she was quoted in an interview. Encouraged
The family travelled afield, often on foot. A number
of people encouraged Umm Kulthoum and her father to consider going to Cairo to
further her career. The family finally moved to Cairo in the early
twenties of last century. Umm Kalthoum’s
voice was quickly identified as exceptionally strong, unique and had attracted
the attention of the press. Yet her talent was considered ungroomed and lacking
the professional command of the vocal subtlety and melodic finesse of first-rank
singers of her time. Her father hired
numerous music teachers for his daughter to nurture her talent. Umm Kulthoum’s musical repertoire in the
1940s and early 1950s and her mature performing style caused this period to be
popularly called the “golden age” in Umm Kulthoum’s career. Later years brought her more fame and
popularity across the Arab world. Among the
many distinguished Arab composers who worked with the diva was Abdul Wahab, a
highly esteemed Arab singer and composer, who had “evinced extensive interest
in new instruments and commanded a wide variety of styles, Arab and Western”
and had composed unforgettable tunes for her.
Umm Kulthoum died of heart failure in early February
1975 after enriching the Arab musical world with enormous and diverse melodies
that still resonate incomparably with excellence and professionalism in its
verses, tunes and performance. Her
funeral was held at the Umar Makram Mosque in Central Cairo, where most
funerals for well-known dignitaries were held.
Favourite The overwhelming thousands of mourners of ordinary
Egyptians far exceeded the number anticipated: they were flooding the streets
of Cairo, and the funeral did not proceed as planned. The millions of Egyptian mourners took the
body from the shoulders of its official bearers and bore it themselves by
turns, carrying it for three hours through the streets of Cairo, eventually to
the mosque of al-Sayyid Husayn, believed to be one of Umm Kulthoum’s
favorites. Millions of mourners across
the world were devastated by her demise.
Virginia Danielson, author of the biography of Umm
Kulthoum has held the Richard F. French Librarianship of Harvard College
Library Loeb Music Library. A curator of
the Archive of World Music and oversees Harvard College Library Audio
Preservation Services. Trained as an ethnomusicologist, she is the author of
the book “The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthoum, Arabic Song and Egyptian Society in
the 20th Century,” which won the Alan P. Merriam Prize for best
English-language monograph in 1997. She
also co-edited “The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East.” A quotation by the famous actor Omar Shariff
describing the influence of Umm Kulthoum reads “She is reborn again every
morning in the hearts of millions. In
the East, a day without Umm Kulthoum would have no colour.” http://www.arabtimesonline.com/client/pagesdetails.asp?nid=34730&ccid=13# |
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