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The Ladies of Arab Song
April 03, 20188:00 p.m.
MADRID
Conde Duque Auditorium
8:00 p.m.
Free entry until the event’s capacity is reached.
Pick up invitations at the box office one hour before the concert begins.
Casa Árabe is paying tribute to Umm Kulthum, Fairuz and Asmahan with a
concert to be given by Syrian singer Lina Al Ahmad, under the musical
direction of Hames Bitar. It will be taking place on Tuesday, April 3,
as part of the “Ellas Crean” festival.
“The Ladies of Arab Song” is a concert which pays homage to three unquestionable figures in contemporary Arab music culture. Umm Kulthum, Fairuz and Asmahan. Backed by the extraordinary voice of Syrian singer Linda Al Ahmad and under the musical direction of Hames Bitar, Casa Árabe is paying homage to the great divas of Arab song as part of the festival “Ellas Crean” (Culture Created by Women).
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 right 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.
The list of works to be played at this recital, through which Casa Árabe is taking part in the “Ellas Crean” festival, will be interpreted by Syrian singer Linda Al Ahmad was born in the city of Homs but trained in the modes of Arab singing in the city of Damascus. Hames Bitar, also a Syrian musician with a well-known career in our country’s music scene (he has resided in Spain since 1998), is responsible for the art direction of the performance, presented for the first time ever to the Spanish public.
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 right 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. The list of works to be played at this recital, through which Casa Árabe is taking part in the “Ellas Crean” festival, will be interpreted by Syrian singer Linda Al Ahmad was born in the city of Homs but trained in the modes of Arab singing in the city of Damascus. Hames Bitar, also a Syrian musician with a well-known career in our country’s music scene (he has resided in Spain since 1998), is responsible for the art direction of the performance, presented for the first time ever to the Spanish public. 
Linda Al-Ahmad, vocals
Hames Bitar, Arabic oud and musical direction
Larbi Sassi, violin
Luis Taberna, percussion
Salman Mubarak, double bass
Kaveh Sarvarian, flute, ney
Hames Bitar, Arabic oud and musical direction
Larbi Sassi, violin
Luis Taberna, percussion
Salman Mubarak, double bass
Kaveh Sarvarian, flute, ney
Umm Kulthum
1. Raq El habib
2. Efrah ya qalbi
3. Alf Leila
Asmahan
1. Layali el uns
2. Instrumental (Riad Al-sunbati)
3. Ya tuyour
4. Ya habibi
Fairuz
1. Ya Qamar
2. Nattaruna ktir
1. Raq El habib
2. Efrah ya qalbi
3. Alf Leila
Asmahan
1. Layali el uns
2. Instrumental (Riad Al-sunbati)
3. Ya tuyour
4. Ya habibi
Fairuz
1. Ya Qamar
2. Nattaruna ktir
Umm Kulthum, “The Star of the East” (1898-1975). Umm Kulthum was born into a very modest family in a small town. Her father was the imam at the local mosque and rounded off his low wages by singing religious songs at weddings and other celebrations amongst his own neighbors and in nearby villages. At the age of five, Umm Kulthum went to study at the kuttab, or Quranic school of her village, where she acquired the basic skills for reading, writing and singing from the Qur’an. At the age of 12, she began to accompany her father to sign at religious festivals and weddings, just like Ella Fitzgerald did when she first started out. In 1923, following the advice of the great “munshedin,” she moved to the capital, Cairo, where she soon met one of the best-known musicians of the era: Muhammad Alqasaabji. He taught her to play the Arabic oud and the art of the maqam. With him, she would end up developing a style of her own, characterized by the inclusion of European instruments like the cello and double bass, and by the combination of Eastern music with harmonies from Western music. After that, her rise to the top in Arab music was unstoppable, with more than 300 songs, several movies and contributions to great poets and musicians, including Ahmad Rami, Riyad Alsunbati and Muhammad Abdelwahab.
Like many of her fellow countrymen, Umm Kulthum enthusiastically welcomed Jamal Abdel Nasser’s 1952 revolution in Egypt, and as of that time she increased her role in Egypt’s public sphere, becoming the spokeswoman for various social and cultural causes and initiatives. After Egypt’s defeat in the war of 1967, and as a gesture of support to the nation, she began a series of national and international concerts which took on the status of State visits. Her influence in the Arab world was so great that her concerts were broadcast live on radio, bringing the streets in major cities to a standstill. She passed away on February 3, 1975. Her burial became a national event, and the crowds which filled the streets of Cairo surpassed all predictions.
Asmahan (1912-1944). With a Syrian Druze father and Lebanese Druze mother, the Al Atrash clan was known in Syria for its role in the fight against French occupation, her grandfather having been the Sultan Basha Al-Atrash, who led the Syrian revolution against the French Protectorate. Because of the threats her family endured as a result of their political stance, they had to flee and go into exile in Egypt. Asmahan grew up surrounded by a cultivated environment with a strong connection to the world of music. Her mother, Princess Alia Almunzer, sang and played the Arabic oud at social celebrations and had to pave her own way for bringing up her three children, providing an example of courage and tenacity.
Asmahan was discovered by musician Dawood Husni, who invited her to sing at concert halls in Cairo. Her brilliant, unique voice quickly drew attention among the highest ranking officials and intellectuals in Egypt, where she was invited to give recitals at the capital’s palaces and theaters. The artist also played a notable role in the world of film, where she was able to record several of her most important songs, some with the accompaniment of her brother Farid Al-Atrash, a singer of enormous popularity in the Arab world.
In addition to her passion for music (which led her to get divorced in 1939 so she could return from Damascus to Cairo to focus on her music career), she also engaged in intensive political activity during World War Two, keeping a close and controversial relationship with the French and British allies. Asmahan died very young, at the age of 31, in an accident when the car in which she was traveling fell into the Nile. At the time of her death, she had just 34 songs authored in her name. However, the mark she left behind on the history of twentieth-century Arab music can never be erased because of the potential held by her voice, her ability to adapt to new musical movements and her great beauty.
Photo credits:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAsmahan_photo.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAsmahan1.jpg
Fairuz (1935- ). Born in Lebanon, Fairuz began to sing when she was just six years old, with the support of Muhammad Fleifel, a well-known professor at Lebanon’s Music Conservatory. It was thanks to Halim el Roumi, a notable Lebanese musician and the head of the music department at the broadcaster Radio Lebanon, that she first came to form part of the station’s choir. That is where she met the Rahbani brothers, Assi and Manzur, who would become inseparable colleagues throughout most of the performer’s career in music. Fairuz married Assi in 1955 and created a new school of music with the two brothers, essential to understanding Arab music in the second half of the twentieth century. This school, with a style radically different from the one promoted by Egypt’s Umm Kulthum, was characterized by songs of a short duration (lasting 3 to 5 minutes) and new melodies inspired by popular music from both the Middle East and other origins (tango, waltz, classical music, etc.). The peak of her popularity in the Arab world came in the 1960’s, and a decade later her voice was already recognized around the world, with tours on every continent that attracted not only the huge Arab diaspora in countries of the Americas, but also audiences of every origin.
Composers like Filmon Wahbi and Joseph Harb wrote many of the finest works in their repertoire for her, and as of 1979, the collaboration with her son Ziad, the perfect musical heir for the Rahbani school, added contemporary compositions to her list of works, and a strong connection to jazz.
Her strong personality has also been felt in the form of her strong political position towards certain events in the region, which has caused her to refuse to take part in certain concerts and events. During the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), Fairuz never considered leaving Lebanon, as did many other Lebanese performers.
Like other divas of Arab song, she also took part in the movie world, though her work as an actress took on its greatest significance in the realm of theater, having played roles in more than 20 plays and operettas.
Photo credits:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fairuz_in_btd_concert_2001.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fairuz_playing_the_guitar.jpg
Like many of her fellow countrymen, Umm Kulthum enthusiastically welcomed Jamal Abdel Nasser’s 1952 revolution in Egypt, and as of that time she increased her role in Egypt’s public sphere, becoming the spokeswoman for various social and cultural causes and initiatives. After Egypt’s defeat in the war of 1967, and as a gesture of support to the nation, she began a series of national and international concerts which took on the status of State visits. Her influence in the Arab world was so great that her concerts were broadcast live on radio, bringing the streets in major cities to a standstill. She passed away on February 3, 1975. Her burial became a national event, and the crowds which filled the streets of Cairo surpassed all predictions.
Asmahan (1912-1944). With a Syrian Druze father and Lebanese Druze mother, the Al Atrash clan was known in Syria for its role in the fight against French occupation, her grandfather having been the Sultan Basha Al-Atrash, who led the Syrian revolution against the French Protectorate. Because of the threats her family endured as a result of their political stance, they had to flee and go into exile in Egypt. Asmahan grew up surrounded by a cultivated environment with a strong connection to the world of music. Her mother, Princess Alia Almunzer, sang and played the Arabic oud at social celebrations and had to pave her own way for bringing up her three children, providing an example of courage and tenacity.
Asmahan was discovered by musician Dawood Husni, who invited her to sing at concert halls in Cairo. Her brilliant, unique voice quickly drew attention among the highest ranking officials and intellectuals in Egypt, where she was invited to give recitals at the capital’s palaces and theaters. The artist also played a notable role in the world of film, where she was able to record several of her most important songs, some with the accompaniment of her brother Farid Al-Atrash, a singer of enormous popularity in the Arab world.
In addition to her passion for music (which led her to get divorced in 1939 so she could return from Damascus to Cairo to focus on her music career), she also engaged in intensive political activity during World War Two, keeping a close and controversial relationship with the French and British allies. Asmahan died very young, at the age of 31, in an accident when the car in which she was traveling fell into the Nile. At the time of her death, she had just 34 songs authored in her name. However, the mark she left behind on the history of twentieth-century Arab music can never be erased because of the potential held by her voice, her ability to adapt to new musical movements and her great beauty.
Photo credits:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAsmahan_photo.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAsmahan1.jpg
Fairuz (1935- ). Born in Lebanon, Fairuz began to sing when she was just six years old, with the support of Muhammad Fleifel, a well-known professor at Lebanon’s Music Conservatory. It was thanks to Halim el Roumi, a notable Lebanese musician and the head of the music department at the broadcaster Radio Lebanon, that she first came to form part of the station’s choir. That is where she met the Rahbani brothers, Assi and Manzur, who would become inseparable colleagues throughout most of the performer’s career in music. Fairuz married Assi in 1955 and created a new school of music with the two brothers, essential to understanding Arab music in the second half of the twentieth century. This school, with a style radically different from the one promoted by Egypt’s Umm Kulthum, was characterized by songs of a short duration (lasting 3 to 5 minutes) and new melodies inspired by popular music from both the Middle East and other origins (tango, waltz, classical music, etc.). The peak of her popularity in the Arab world came in the 1960’s, and a decade later her voice was already recognized around the world, with tours on every continent that attracted not only the huge Arab diaspora in countries of the Americas, but also audiences of every origin.
Composers like Filmon Wahbi and Joseph Harb wrote many of the finest works in their repertoire for her, and as of 1979, the collaboration with her son Ziad, the perfect musical heir for the Rahbani school, added contemporary compositions to her list of works, and a strong connection to jazz.
Her strong personality has also been felt in the form of her strong political position towards certain events in the region, which has caused her to refuse to take part in certain concerts and events. During the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), Fairuz never considered leaving Lebanon, as did many other Lebanese performers.
Like other divas of Arab song, she also took part in the movie world, though her work as an actress took on its greatest significance in the realm of theater, having played roles in more than 20 plays and operettas.
Photo credits:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fairuz_in_btd_concert_2001.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fairuz_playing_the_guitar.jpg
Linda Al-Ahmad (vocals). Born in Homs, Syria in 1976, Al-Ahmad completed studies in literature and drama at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus. For several years, she took part as a reader of dramatic texts in theater, television and cinema. Similarly, she developed her career as a singer in the world of theater, with appearances on Syrian television, as well. She was educated in singing by the Syrian master of Armenian origin Arax Chekjian and learned the modes of Arab music and song with master Haizam Al Katreeb. In 2016, along with her husband, writer and actor Rafi Wahbe, she began to prepare a joint project whose first fruits consisted of the songs “It’s Called Homs” and “Prayer for Aleppo.” She moved to Spain during the second half of 2016 to continue her artistic projects.
Hames Bitar (musical direction, Arabic oud). Born in Masyaf, Syria to a family steeped in musical tradition, from a very early age he began learning with the help of his father. Since he was ten years old, he took part in many different concerts and festivals and has been a member of various classical Arab music ensembles, and dance and theater companies, participating with well-known performers. He has been living in Spain since the year of 1998, playing an important role in Madrid’s culture and music scene.
Hames Bitar (musical direction, Arabic oud). Born in Masyaf, Syria to a family steeped in musical tradition, from a very early age he began learning with the help of his father. Since he was ten years old, he took part in many different concerts and festivals and has been a member of various classical Arab music ensembles, and dance and theater companies, participating with well-known performers. He has been living in Spain since the year of 1998, playing an important role in Madrid’s culture and music scene.