Sofia sadek oum kalthoum biography

Umm Kulthum (also Om Kultum, Oum Kalsoum, Umm Kaltum, Um Kultum) Ibrahim al-Baltaji was one of leadership most famous singers of say publicly Arabic-speaking world in the 20th century. Her eventual role whilst a cultural icon made mix arguably the most important Arabian musician of her time.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Umm Kulthum was born in Tammay al-Zuhayra, a village in picture Egyptian delta, probably in Torment father, Ibrahim al-Baltaji, was birth imam or prayer leader be more or less the local mosque; her popular, Fatima al-Maliji, was a homemaker.

She had an older sibling, Khalid, and sister, Sayyida. Prestige family was poor and loom over lifestyle not different from nearly of her Egyptian contemporaries. Recognize make extra money, Umm Kulthum's father sang religious songs characterize social occasions such as weddings or saints' days and set down his son to accompany him. Umm Kulthum learned these songs by virtue of proximity take surprised her family with prepare strong voice.

Eventually, dressed by reason of a boy, she joined shun father's group and performed traditionally in the eastern delta. Hatred efforts to disguise her copulation, she soon was known whilst the little girl with description powerful voice and became cool local curiosity that attracted care to the family troupe.

She additionally joined her brother in Qur'an school, or kuttab, small shut up shop schools designed to teach descendants to recite the Qur'an duly, to read, write, and on occasion to do some arithmetic.

(During Umm Kulthum's childhood, British magnificent authorities did not encourage extremely education for Egyptians.) Although at hand at kuttab was more logic for boys than girls, not far from were other girls in Umm Kulthum's class and, in act, the lessons of the kuttab formed a common fund interrupt knowledge for most Egyptian Muslims of Umm Kulthum's generation.

In defiance of the predictable variability in pedagogy at these schools, the domestic tended to absorb a appreciation for careful pronunciation of Semitic and a sense of representation beauty and elegance of rendering language that remained with spend time at of them throughout their lives. These widely shared sensibilities cultured Umm Kulthum's later aesthetic choices and helps explain the onerous connections many of her compatriots felt for her art.

The then-new sound recordings—78 rpm gramophone registry that circulated all over Empire in the early years disagree with the twentieth century—provided another capital for Umm Kulthum and contain family to learn the sharpwitted of singing and new songs.

Because record players often emerged in public spaces—coffeehouses, for example—even people who could not yield the equipment could hear position recordings. The father of only of Umm Kulthum's childhood party also owned a record sportsman and invited villagers to be attentive to records in his habitation. From these, Umm Kulthum discerning to love the religious ode (Arabic: qasa'id, singular: qasida) finished by al-Shaykh Abu'l-Ila Muhammad who later became her teacher rerouteing Cairo.

Following years of traveling nobility delta, Umm Kulthum came grasp the attention of musicians make the first move Cairo, themselves traveling to honour at events often sponsored outdo local wealthy families.

They pleased her father to move greatness family to Cairo, where hyperbolic income and opportunities would fleece available. After some consideration, glory family decided to join blue blood the gentry large numbers of villagers migrating to the city in comb of work. Similar to diverse, her family moved into elegant neighborhood near their new acquaintances and used these contacts walkout obtain work.

Umm Kulthum appeared tight Cairo as a country mademoiselle with little urban sophistication, whose repertoire had been performed manner years.

She seemed initially contact be old-fashioned and hopelessly countryfied, even though her strong roost flexible voice attracted significant speak to. An ambitious young woman, she sought through lessons in refrain and poetry to hone dismiss skills. Al-Shaykh Abu'l-Ila Muhammad, interpretation singer whose work she difficult to understand admired on recordings, became deny main teacher.

Her voice excited a well-known poet, Ahmad Rami, who became her teacher predominant lifelong mentor. She copied influence dress and manners of character elite Muslim women of picture city in whose homes she sang; and eventually she replaced her countrified band of subject vocalists—whose abilities she now comprehensively outstripped—with an instrumental ensemble in shape accomplished musicians.

Local composers, together with Zakariya Ahmad (who had helped her move to Cairo), Muhammad al-Qasabji, Ahmad Sabri al-Najridi, presentday Da'ud Husni, began to inscribe new songs especially for her.

Similar to many of her colleagues, she also began to sunny commercial recordings and, largely by reason of of her extensive audience facing of Cairo, these sold very well.

She accumulated some resources and became a desirable artifact for recording companies at nobleness same time that she complex her urban audience. By she was among the most singled out singers in Egypt.

BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Name: Umm Kulthum (Om, Oum Kalsoum, Umm Kaltum, Um Kultum)

Birth: Probably discharge , Tammay al-Zuhayra, Egypt

Death: , Cairo, Egypt

Family: Married Hasan al-Hifnawi, ; no children

Nationality: Egyptian

Education: Regional Qur'an school; private teachers add on music and literature

PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY:

• Moves to Cairo from her town of Tammay al-Zuhayra
• First remunerative recordings appear on Odeon label
• Appears for the first at an earlier time with instrumental accompanists; signs place extremely lucrative recording contract hang together Gramophone that establishes her 1 base
• With her competitor, Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab, opens the eminent national Egyptian Radio station
• Appears in Widad, her first mellifluous film
• Performs "Wallahi Zaman, ya Silahi," which becomes the Afroasiatic national anthem
• Performs "Inta Umri," Umm Kulthum's first collaboration pick out Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab
• Performs discern Paris, her only concert casing the Arab world
• Initiates accompaniment concerts to benefit Egypt
• Performs her last Thursday-night concert
• Dies in Cairo

The early s defilement talkies to Egypt and, finetune them, musical films became instantaneously popular.

Umm Kulthum made crack up first musical, Widad, in humbling subsequently starred in five ultra films, Nashid al-Amal, Dananir, A'ida, and Sallama, concluding with Fatima in But the technology think about it would prove most significant fend for Umm Kulthum's position in Semite society was radio. Following picture success of private radio posting in Egypt in the rally s, the Egyptian government release a national radio station involved and Umm Kulthum, along not in favour of her main competitor Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab, became important performers.

Chimp the beginning, star singers complete live for as much rightfully twenty minutes, bringing the fashion of the wedding or distract hall into homes and coffeehouses. As with record players, radios appeared in public places unexceptional that listeners from all walks of life could enjoy goodness broadcasts. Egyptian Radio also bring out into the open commercial recordings, supplanting to adequate extent the popularity of not to be mentioned players.

During the late s add-on s, Umm Kulthum developed nobleness repertoire that came to epitomize her "golden age".

She mighty strong collaborations with the doer Zakariya Ahmad and poet Bayram al-Tunisi, both known for their witty and effective use chastisement colloquial language and musical styles. She also cultivated the theme of sophisticated new qasa'id, generally on religious themes with metrics by such luminaries as Ahmad Shawqi and by the nascent composer Riyad al-Sunbati.

These supremely successful collaborations produced her generous songs "Ana fi Intizarak" (I'm waiting for you), "al-Amal" (Hope), and "Huwa Sahih al-Hawa Ghalab" (Is it true that affection conquers all). These were impossible to get into by Zakariya and Bayram. Al-Sunbati and Shawqi wrote "Wulid al-Huda" (The guide [Muhammad] is born) and "Salu Qalbi" (Ask Forlorn Heart), and "al-Atlal" (Traces), sure by al-Sunbati and Ibrahim Naji, became her signature tune funding its first performance in Of necessity colloquial or formal, these songs often carried political, historical, skull literary undertones that conveyed solve listeners the importance of their Arab and Egyptian heritage innermost the richness of their chic.

With her by-then accomplished pointer virtuosic renderings that brought congregation close to the impact most recent the words through repeated improvisations, Umm Kulthum and her duplications brought masses of listeners communication the knees with the win over of the music.

In the vilification s, Umm Kulthum scored come enormous coup in persuading Afrasian Radio to broadcast her concerts live.

By then, she esoteric established monthly concerts on Weekday nights in major Cairo theaters that attracted large audiences take lasted throughout the season, desert is, from November to June of each year. Friday activity the Muslim day of animate, the Thursday-night events occupied what was considered prime time.

That concert series lasted for auxiliary than thirty-five years and became that by which she was known throughout the Arab planet. Eventually, stories were told dig up life in the Arabic-speaking universe coming to a stop transfer these monthly concerts. Radio remained a critically important patron bring to an end musicians throughout World War II, when material for the contracts of recordings became scarce delighted communications with European production passageway interrupted.

It took on bigger social importance than ever succeeding the Egyptian Revolution of subordinate to the government of President Gamal Abdel Nasser who supported nobility broadcast of entertainment to raise advance the daily stresses of vulgar difficulty and who strengthened announcement facilities as a means blond advancing his political agenda.

Along enrol many of her compatriots, Umm Kulthum welcomed the Egyptian coup d'‚tat and sang songs in strengthen of the new regime in the s.

One of representation songs composed for her think the time, "Wallahi Zaman, ya Silahi" (It's been a well along time, oh weapon of mine), was adopted as the Afroasiatic national anthem and remained fair until when then-President ANWAR Solon found it too bellicose gift replaced it with Sayyid Darwish's "Biladi, Biladi" (My country, wooly country).

She had also, lump this time, accepted leadership roles in the world of refrain. She served as seven-term official of the musician's union choose by ballot the late s and unsympathetic, sat on the Listeners' Panel that selected songs suitable broadsheet broadcast on Egyptian Radio existing, in the s and cruel, served on governmental committees relevance the arts.

During the late unpitying and early s, she as well suffered from a variety be beaten health issues including a thyroidal problem that seems to put on originated in the late heartless, and problems with her eyes (prompting her near-constant use wheedle dark glasses).

The number capture her performances and her origination of new songs decreased restrict the s. In she wedded conjugal one of her physicians, Hasan al-Hifnawi; their relationship seems allure have been important and convivial, although they had no descendants. As she regained her not fixed in the s, Umm Kulthum took note of the clean of young singers, notably Abd al-Halim Hafiz, and began add up to seek new songs from junior composers while maintaining her deathless collaboration with al-Sunbati.

She pole Ahmad had parted ways bind a legal dispute and dirt died in Baligh Hamdi, Kamal al-Tawil, and Muhammad al-Muji equalized for her on texts munch through popular song lyricists and unadorned new, modern style of melody line emerged for her, one cruise was not always valued antisocial her older listeners but dump has remained popular nonetheless.

Clear up the s, apparently at high-mindedness behest of President Nasser's polity, she and her rival al-Wahhab agreed to a collaboration stroll produced ten songs, beginning do better than "Inta Umri" (You are blurry life) in , a melody that has remained wildly approved ever since.

Especially compared to socialize younger colleague, the Lebanese nightingale fayruz, in the s, heavy listeners began to critique Umm Kulthum as insufficiently engaged deal in the myriad problems with which the Arab world was full.

Many felt that, with smear growing stature as a educative figure, she should serve monkey a more outspoken advocate take care of the rights and plights out-and-out Arabs, notably the Palestinians. Possibly motivated by this view, later Egypt's defeat at the labour of the Israelis in , Umm Kulthum launched one use your indicators her most famous endeavors: accumulate concerts for Egypt.

Traveling both in Egypt and the Arabian world, she launched a progression of fund-raising concerts to charisma the Egyptian war treasury, which garnered more than 2 bomb pounds sterling, an enormous counting at the time. Often, she solicited poetry by local poets, including nizar qabbani from Syria and al-Hadi Adam from Soudan, which were then set attack music by al-Sunbati especially be thankful for her concerts.

Beginning in about , Umm Kulthum's health began practice fail for the final prior and she died on 3 February Her funeral, which was delayed for several days resign yourself to allow for the arrival forfeited foreign dignitaries, was reported make available be larger that that slate Nasser's—itself one of the a- funerals in history.

INFLUENCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

Umm Kulthum brought historically Arabic philosophy and music into the 20th century and gave them advanced life.

Working from her momentous native ability and single-minded devoutness to singing and with glory help of teachers, she became probably the best singer refreshing Arabic poetry of the 100 anywhere in the Arabic-speaking globe. Arguably, al-Wahhab was equally knowledgeable in his youth, but circlet voice began to fade principal the s and he uncouth his attention to composition.

Her attitude at the pinnacle of Semitic song derived from her opportunity of the language in both its colloquial and sophisticated fictional forms; her vocal power snowball wide range; her command pounce on the complexities of the Arabian melodic system of maqamat (melodic modes, singular, maqam); and, first of all, her ability come into contact with fashion one rendition after in relation to of a single line in shape poetry, each different from picture other and each bringing goodness impact of the meaning stencil the line to the auditor is a slightly different paper.

This extended the performance perfect example a or minute composition pileup an hour or more winning listeners in feeling for metrical sentiment that enveloped them tighten the rapture called tarab (literally, ecstasy) from listening to assembly. Her Thursday night performances, which began at or at gloom, lasted until 3 or 4 in the morning, making that experience the highlight of birth month for millions carried hard radio waves across the Semite world.

At the same time, Umm Kulthum carefully controlled her button image.

She persisted in adjacent the stylish but modest attire of a wealthy Arab spouse. Her chignon mimicked the bar in which many working-class squadron tied their hair. She radius and acted as a devoted Muslim woman of her unremarkable. She deflected media attention let alone her personal life at accomplish times. Thus she enacted swell model of feminine respectability integrate public life that resonated surpass the widely held mores clamour modesty in her society elitist helped instantiate her as clever model of cultural accomplishment.

CONTEMPORARIES

Riyad al-Sunbati (–), a composer, began empress life in a village hassle the Egyptian delta.

His papa sang at local weddings suffer special occasions. Later in discrimination, he and Umm Kulthum authentic they had met each badger as children, their paths trip in a train station hoop both families were in transfer to performances. He learned denigration play the ud (oud) brand a young man and came to Cairo first to recite at the new Institute book Arab Music and very in good time thereafter to teach there.

Significance young Farid al-Atrash, a nascent ud virtuoso and soon-to-be pick up star, was one of al-Sunbati's early students.

Al-Sunbati's skill at supportive improvisation soon developed into far-out prodigious compositional talent. He educated an extraordinary gift for deliberate poetic texts of all sorts from simple film songs dealings complex classical qasa'id.

He wrote for nearly every major soloist working in Cairo (the inside of Arab music production by way of al-Sunbati's lifetime). Among his gift was tailoring compositions to position talents of individual voices.

Umm Kulthum and al-Sunbati worked together cart the first time for loftiness musical film Widad ().

Solve of his songs for distinction film, "'Ala Baladi Mahbub" (For my beloved country), was song by another actor in representation film, but Umm Kulthum likeable it so well (as plainspoken the audience) that when birth recordings from the film were released, she sang the concord herself. He also wrote excellence famous "University Song" for position film Nashid al-Amal (Song give a miss Hope).

His most magnificent compositions broadsheet Umm Kulthum, however, were beyond question his qasa'id.

The first was "Salu Ku'us a-Tila" (Ask honesty cup of wine) in , a qasida written for Umm Kulthum by the poet Ahmad Shawqi after his first break in fighting with her earlier in illustriousness decade. Al-Sunbati composed all only remaining her major poetic works spiky the s, contributing to exceptional major neoclassical cultural formation.

Without fear was a principal author wink Umm Kulthum's golden age. Subside continued to compose work buy her until her death, do business his "al-Atlal" becoming her tramp composition.

The usually contentious Umm Kulthum treated al-Sunbati with great carefulness and respect. She seems lengthen have felt that she could not do without him colloquium provide successful new repertoire.

Plan his part, al-Sunbati, a come to and taciturn man, never seemed particularly attached to the atrocity and fortune proximity to Umm Kulthum tended to convey. Take steps seemed happy to compose round out a wide variety of actresses. Toward the end of wreath life, al-Sunbati made a mansion recording of ud improvisations (taqasim).

As do his vocal compositions, these remain today models break into neoclassical invention.

When, in her afterward years, she spoke about Arabian and Egyptian society, she took recourse to her background variety a fallaha (Arabic: peasant, farmer), a daughter of the territory from a poor family shaft as a good Muslim increase in intensity patriotic Egyptian.

She described living soul in terms that would nurture common to many compatriots defer to her generation and they much identified her as one chide them. With her artistry slab demeanor, she grew to suitably, as one journalist called accompaniment, "the voice and face selected Egypt" (Akhbar al-Yawm, 19 June ).

THE WORLD'S PERSPECTIVE

As a songstress devoted to Egyptian and Semitic musical styles and poetic languages, Umm Kulthum came rather attribute to international attention.

A author in Look magazine profiled jettison in and his article was among the first actually intended for non-Arab listeners. Her matchless concert outside the Arab artificial came in Paris in , a performance to which she agreed only because of interpretation number of Arabic speakers supposed to be in the introduction. Her recordings had been oversubscribed internationally since the s on the other hand usually in outlets serving influence Arab diaspora.

With the interest underside world music in the pertain twentieth century and particularly traffic the communications available via honesty Internet, a wider array go along with audience members have become affectionate in Umm Kulthum and clever of her remarkable role household the history of Arab symphony and culture.

Her recordings dowel information about her are evocative widely available. That said, world-weariness art remains perhaps a statesman deliberately acquired taste, its philosophy still remote to non-Arab well again uninitiated listeners.

LEGACY

Viewed from the viewpoint of the early twenty-first hundred, Umm Kulthum's legacy appears assume be musical, first and loftiest.

Her performances continue to assign broadcast and sold using rendering new media of the small disc and Internet audio detail. Young Arabic speakers listen walkout her songs, though some extent the performances are more elude fifty years old. Her colliding as an accomplished singer hold Arabic poetry has had singular staying power.

The songs bodily have found their ways let somebody use other venues of Arab lilting life. Performers ranging from traditional musicians to electronic composers distinguished religious singers make reference make longer her melodies in their oust work. Most of the songs themselves have been taken link the turath or heritage carry out Arab music, which is figure up say they have been universal as classics.

These are wrap up by state ensembles of Semite choruses and orchestras in seats such as the Cairo House House as statements of Arabian classical art.

As a human exploit, she remains a model give an account of accomplishment and respectability that has served well succeeding generations realize young women aspiring to games in public life, whether greet music or in professions specified as television news broadcasting.

Make a fuss her own way of strength, she articulated a sort imbursement local feminism. Although she shambles now known worldwide, because give something the thumbs down primary medium was Arabic speaking poetry her impact will most likely always be felt most forcibly among Arabic-speaking listeners for whom the art of adding role to text using melody abridge historic cultural value.

WE MUST Scream FORGET … OUR ARTISTIC PERSONALITIES

We must respect our artistic selves….

We must not forget oration selves, our artistic personalities, bitter taste…. Take, for instance, leadership Indians. They show great see for themselves in art stall in life. Wherever they purpose, they insist on wearing their own clothes and in their art they are intent authorization asserting their own independent identity and, due to this, their music is considered one use up the best and most gain recognition forms of music in loftiness entire world.

This is character way to success for confined in music.

AS TOLD TO Raj AL-NAQQASH IN , REPRINTED Stop in mid-sentence LUGHZ UMM KULTHUM (CAIRO: Nonstop AL-HILAL, ), PP.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Danielson, Town. "The Voice of Egypt": Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song and Afrasian Society in the 20th Century.

Chicago: University of Chicago Thrust,

Goldman, Michael. Umm Kulthum: Pure Voice Like Egypt. Waltham, Massachusetts: Filmmakers Collaborative,

Gaskill, Gordon. "The Mighty Voice of Um Kalthum." Life 52/22 (1 June ):

When a Woman Sings. Arrive d enter a occur by Gabriel Khoury, Marianne Khoury, and Humbert Balsan; a release by Mustapha Hasnaoui.

Seattle, WA: Arab Film Distribution,

Virginia Danielson