The most important moments in twentieth-century Arab music owe a great deal to women who have been essential to the development of the cultural scene. These women singers have played a notable role in the fight for women’s rights and women’s visibility in public space. They have not only been three stars whose popularity within the Arab world has continued on up to our modern times. Their influence as figures with a major social and political repercussion during their era is unquestionable, as well.

Egypt’s Umm Kulthum was, in addition to being known as the “Star of the East,” a personage who called for the unity of Arabs. As some have written, she was the “secret weapon” of Egypt’s president, Jamal Abdel Nasser. As for Asmahan, of aristocratic Syrian origin, she had to go into exile in Egypt along with her family because of her political commitment, reaching the peak of her success with just 34 songs in her name. Fairuz, the Lebanese singer with a multicolored voice, was a whole cultural revolution in and of herself, in both poetry and music, along with the Rahbani brothers. The common feature tying together all three of these performers is their huge popularity throughout the Arab world, having become true cultural icons not only in their own era (the second half of the twentieth century), but also in the present, being admired and respected by the youngest generations and today’s most cutting-edge Arab performers.



Performers
Linda Al Ahmad: vocals (Syria-Spain)
Hames Bitar: Arabic oud and musical direction (Syria-Spain)
Luis Taberna: percussion (Spain)
Kaveh Sarvarian: Ney and flute (Iran-Spain)
Salman Mubarak: double bass (Syria-Spain)
Larbi Sassi: violin (Tunisia-France)

Concert information sheet