Umm Kalthum
Umm Kalthum (Umm Kulthum) (Oum Kulthoum) (Om Kalsoum) (Kawkab al-Sharq - “Star of the East”) (Umm Kulthum Ebrahim Elbeltagi) (b. May 4, 1904?, Tummāy al-Zahāyrah, Egypt - d. February 3, 1975, Cairo, Egypt). Indisputably the greatest singer of the Arab world of her generation. Stern and tragic, rigidly in control, this was a woman who, in her heyday, truly had the Arab world in the palm of her hand. With melancholy operettas that seemed to drift on for hours, she encapsulated the love lives of a nation and mesmerized millions.
Rumor had it that Umm Kalthum inhaled gulps of hashish smoke before performing and that the scarf trailing from her right hand was steeped in opium. Her stage presence was charged by a theatrical rapport with the audience. A slight nod of the head or a shake of her shoulders and they were in uproar. She learned to sing by reciting verse at cafes in her village and sometimes dressed as a boy to escape the religious authorities. It was to her training in religious chanting that she owed her stunning vocal agility and her masterful command of the complex maqamat. She was educated in the secular field by the poet Ahmed Ramy and of her total output of 286 songs, 132 were his poems. Her voice was the epitome of the Arab ideal -- saturated with shaggan, or emotional yearning, and powerful enough on occasion to shatter a glass.
In her long career, Umm Kalthum specialized in love songs that sometimes lasted an hour, improvising and ornamenting on a theme that would bring the audience to a frenzy. She was once asked to sing a line 52 times over, which she did while developing the melody each time. Of this ability she said: “I am greatly influenced by the music found in Arabic poetry. I improvise because my heart rejoices in the richness of this music. If someone went over a song which I sang five times, he would not find any one like the other. I am not a record that repeats itself, I am a human being who is deeply touched by what I sing.” As a childless mother, her songs were her offspring given to the people. For these gifts, they returned total adoration.
Apart from Allah, it is said, that Umm Kalthum is the only subject on which all Arabs agree. This recognition has always given Umm Kalthum a special political significance. She embraced Nasser’s pan-Arab ideals and drew Arabs together by extending a pride to them during their most difficult period in history. Nasser used her nationalistic songs to keep the masses behind him, and times his major political speeches carefully around her broadcasts. The less prescient Anwar Sadat once addressed the nation on the same day as her concert, and ended up without much of an audience, a mistake he only made once.
In her last years, Umm Kalthum visited many other Arab countries, and this took the shape of state visits. Her funeral in 1975 was described as bigger than the one for President Nasser some five years earlier.
The style of Umm Kalthum was influenced by Western popular music of her time. However, her music was firmly and dominantly based upon traditional classical Arab music. She always used large orchestras, but the main force in her performances was always her own powerful voice. She recorded over 300 songs, most famous of which are al-Atlal, Raqqu al-Habib, Inta umri, and Fakarouni.
Umm Kalthum (Umm Kulthum) mesmerized Arab audiences from the Persian Gulf to Morocco for half a century. She was one of the most famous Arab singers and public personalities in the 20th century.
Umm Kulthūm’s father was a village imam who sang traditional religious songs at weddings and holidays to make ends meet. She learned to sing from him, and, when he noticed the strength of her voice, he began taking her with him, dressed as a boy to avoid the opprobrium of displaying a young daughter onstage. Egyptian society during Umm Kulthūm’s youth held singing—even of the religious variety—to be a disreputable occupation, especially for a female. Umm Kulthūm made a name for herself singing in the towns and villages of the Egyptian delta (an area throughout which she retained a great following). By the time she was a teenager, she had become the family star.
Sometime about 1923 the family moved to Cairo, a major center of the lucrative world of entertainment and emerging mass media production in the Middle East. There they were perceived as old-fashioned and countrified. To improve her image and acquire sophistication, Umm Kulthūm studied music and poetry from accomplished performers and literati and copied the manners of the ladies of wealthy homes in which she was invited to sing. She soon made a name in the homes and salons of the wealthy as well as in public venues such as theaters and cabarets. By the mid-1920s she had made her first recordings and had achieved a more polished and sophisticated musical and personal style. By the end of the 1920s, she had become a sought-after performer and was one of the best-paid musicians in Cairo. Her extremely successful career in commercial recording eventually extended to radio, film, and television. In 1936 she made her first motion picture, Wedad, in which she played the title role. It was the first of six motion pictures in which she was to act.
Beginning in 1937, she regularly gave a performance on the first Thursday (which in most Islamic countries is the last day of the workweek) of every month. By this time, she had moved from singing religious songs to performing popular tunes—often in the colloquial dialect and accompanied by a small traditional orchestra—and she became known for her emotive, passionate renditions of arrangements by the best composers, poets, and songwriters of the day. These included the poets Aḥmad Shawqī and Bayrām al-Tūnisī (who wrote many of the singer’s colloquial Egyptian songs) and, later, the noted composer Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, with whom she collaborated on 10 songs. The first of these tunes, “"Inta ʿUmrī"” (“You Are My Life”), remains a modern classic. Her strong and nuanced voice and her ability to fashion multiple iterations of single lines of text drew audiences into the emotion and meaning of the poetic lyrics and extended for hours what often had been written as relatively short compositions.
Known sometimes as Kawkab al-Sharq (“Star of the East”), Umm Kulthūm had an immense repertoire, which included religious, sentimental, and nationalistic songs. In the midst of the turmoil created by two world wars, the Great Depression of the 1930s, and the 1952 Egyptian revolution, she cultivated a public persona as a patriotic Egyptian and a devout Muslim. She sang songs in support of Egyptian independence (“"Nashīd al-Jāmiʿah"” [“"The University Anthem"”], “"Saʾalu Qalbī"” [“"Ask My Heart"”]) and in the 1950s sang many songs in support of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, with whom she developed a close friendship. One of her songs associated with Nasser— “"Wallāhi Zamān, Yā Silāḥī"” (“"It’s Been a Long Time, O Weapon of Mine"”)—was adopted as the Egyptian national anthem from 1960 to 1979. She served as president of the Musician’s Union for seven years and held positions on numerous government commissions on the arts. Her popularity was further enhanced by her generous donations to Arab causes. After Egypt’s defeat in the Six-Day War of June 1967, she toured Egypt and the broader Arab world, donating the proceeds of her concerts to the Egyptian government.
Health problems plagued the singer most of her life. During the late 1940s and early ’50s, she worked only on a limited basis, and on a number of occasions throughout her life she traveled to Europe and the United States for treatment of a variety of ailments. Most obviously, problems with her eyes (purportedly from years spent in front of stage lights) forced her to wear heavy sunglasses, which became a hallmark during her later life. Such was her popularity that news of her death provoked a spontaneous outpouring of hysterical grief, and millions of admirers lined the streets for her funeral procession. She remained one of the Arab world’s best-selling singers even decades after her death. In 2001 the Egyptian government established the Kawkab al-Sharq Museum in Cairo to celebrate the singer’s life and accomplishments.
Umm Kulthum see Umm Kalthum
Oum Kulthoum see Umm Kalthum
Om Kalsoum see Umm Kalthum
Kawkab al-Sharq see Umm Kalthum
Star of the East see Umm Kalthum
Umm Kulthum Ebrahim Elbeltagi see Umm Kalthum
Rumor had it that Umm Kalthum inhaled gulps of hashish smoke before performing and that the scarf trailing from her right hand was steeped in opium. Her stage presence was charged by a theatrical rapport with the audience. A slight nod of the head or a shake of her shoulders and they were in uproar. She learned to sing by reciting verse at cafes in her village and sometimes dressed as a boy to escape the religious authorities. It was to her training in religious chanting that she owed her stunning vocal agility and her masterful command of the complex maqamat. She was educated in the secular field by the poet Ahmed Ramy and of her total output of 286 songs, 132 were his poems. Her voice was the epitome of the Arab ideal -- saturated with shaggan, or emotional yearning, and powerful enough on occasion to shatter a glass.
In her long career, Umm Kalthum specialized in love songs that sometimes lasted an hour, improvising and ornamenting on a theme that would bring the audience to a frenzy. She was once asked to sing a line 52 times over, which she did while developing the melody each time. Of this ability she said: “I am greatly influenced by the music found in Arabic poetry. I improvise because my heart rejoices in the richness of this music. If someone went over a song which I sang five times, he would not find any one like the other. I am not a record that repeats itself, I am a human being who is deeply touched by what I sing.” As a childless mother, her songs were her offspring given to the people. For these gifts, they returned total adoration.
Apart from Allah, it is said, that Umm Kalthum is the only subject on which all Arabs agree. This recognition has always given Umm Kalthum a special political significance. She embraced Nasser’s pan-Arab ideals and drew Arabs together by extending a pride to them during their most difficult period in history. Nasser used her nationalistic songs to keep the masses behind him, and times his major political speeches carefully around her broadcasts. The less prescient Anwar Sadat once addressed the nation on the same day as her concert, and ended up without much of an audience, a mistake he only made once.
In her last years, Umm Kalthum visited many other Arab countries, and this took the shape of state visits. Her funeral in 1975 was described as bigger than the one for President Nasser some five years earlier.
The style of Umm Kalthum was influenced by Western popular music of her time. However, her music was firmly and dominantly based upon traditional classical Arab music. She always used large orchestras, but the main force in her performances was always her own powerful voice. She recorded over 300 songs, most famous of which are al-Atlal, Raqqu al-Habib, Inta umri, and Fakarouni.
Umm Kalthum (Umm Kulthum) mesmerized Arab audiences from the Persian Gulf to Morocco for half a century. She was one of the most famous Arab singers and public personalities in the 20th century.
Umm Kulthūm’s father was a village imam who sang traditional religious songs at weddings and holidays to make ends meet. She learned to sing from him, and, when he noticed the strength of her voice, he began taking her with him, dressed as a boy to avoid the opprobrium of displaying a young daughter onstage. Egyptian society during Umm Kulthūm’s youth held singing—even of the religious variety—to be a disreputable occupation, especially for a female. Umm Kulthūm made a name for herself singing in the towns and villages of the Egyptian delta (an area throughout which she retained a great following). By the time she was a teenager, she had become the family star.
Sometime about 1923 the family moved to Cairo, a major center of the lucrative world of entertainment and emerging mass media production in the Middle East. There they were perceived as old-fashioned and countrified. To improve her image and acquire sophistication, Umm Kulthūm studied music and poetry from accomplished performers and literati and copied the manners of the ladies of wealthy homes in which she was invited to sing. She soon made a name in the homes and salons of the wealthy as well as in public venues such as theaters and cabarets. By the mid-1920s she had made her first recordings and had achieved a more polished and sophisticated musical and personal style. By the end of the 1920s, she had become a sought-after performer and was one of the best-paid musicians in Cairo. Her extremely successful career in commercial recording eventually extended to radio, film, and television. In 1936 she made her first motion picture, Wedad, in which she played the title role. It was the first of six motion pictures in which she was to act.
Beginning in 1937, she regularly gave a performance on the first Thursday (which in most Islamic countries is the last day of the workweek) of every month. By this time, she had moved from singing religious songs to performing popular tunes—often in the colloquial dialect and accompanied by a small traditional orchestra—and she became known for her emotive, passionate renditions of arrangements by the best composers, poets, and songwriters of the day. These included the poets Aḥmad Shawqī and Bayrām al-Tūnisī (who wrote many of the singer’s colloquial Egyptian songs) and, later, the noted composer Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, with whom she collaborated on 10 songs. The first of these tunes, “"Inta ʿUmrī"” (“You Are My Life”), remains a modern classic. Her strong and nuanced voice and her ability to fashion multiple iterations of single lines of text drew audiences into the emotion and meaning of the poetic lyrics and extended for hours what often had been written as relatively short compositions.
Known sometimes as Kawkab al-Sharq (“Star of the East”), Umm Kulthūm had an immense repertoire, which included religious, sentimental, and nationalistic songs. In the midst of the turmoil created by two world wars, the Great Depression of the 1930s, and the 1952 Egyptian revolution, she cultivated a public persona as a patriotic Egyptian and a devout Muslim. She sang songs in support of Egyptian independence (“"Nashīd al-Jāmiʿah"” [“"The University Anthem"”], “"Saʾalu Qalbī"” [“"Ask My Heart"”]) and in the 1950s sang many songs in support of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, with whom she developed a close friendship. One of her songs associated with Nasser— “"Wallāhi Zamān, Yā Silāḥī"” (“"It’s Been a Long Time, O Weapon of Mine"”)—was adopted as the Egyptian national anthem from 1960 to 1979. She served as president of the Musician’s Union for seven years and held positions on numerous government commissions on the arts. Her popularity was further enhanced by her generous donations to Arab causes. After Egypt’s defeat in the Six-Day War of June 1967, she toured Egypt and the broader Arab world, donating the proceeds of her concerts to the Egyptian government.
Health problems plagued the singer most of her life. During the late 1940s and early ’50s, she worked only on a limited basis, and on a number of occasions throughout her life she traveled to Europe and the United States for treatment of a variety of ailments. Most obviously, problems with her eyes (purportedly from years spent in front of stage lights) forced her to wear heavy sunglasses, which became a hallmark during her later life. Such was her popularity that news of her death provoked a spontaneous outpouring of hysterical grief, and millions of admirers lined the streets for her funeral procession. She remained one of the Arab world’s best-selling singers even decades after her death. In 2001 the Egyptian government established the Kawkab al-Sharq Museum in Cairo to celebrate the singer’s life and accomplishments.
Umm Kulthum see Umm Kalthum
Oum Kulthoum see Umm Kalthum
Om Kalsoum see Umm Kalthum
Kawkab al-Sharq see Umm Kalthum
Star of the East see Umm Kalthum
Umm Kulthum Ebrahim Elbeltagi see Umm Kalthum
Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum (Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad) (d. 630). Daughter of the Prophet. She is said to have married ‘Utba, a son of Abu Lahab, the enemy of Islam, but to have been divorced by him at his father’s orders before the marriage was consummated. After the death of her sister Ruqayya, her brother-in-law ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, later the third caliph, married her during the battle of Badr.
Umm Kulthum is viewed as the daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah bint Khuwaylid by Sunni Muslims. Other Muslim sects such as Shia Muslims debate her being a daughter of Muhammed (or even of Khadijah).
Umm Kulthum was first married to Utaybah bin Abu Lahab. His father, Abu Lahab, forced Utbah to repudiate Umm Kulthum due to Abu Lahab's opposition to Muhammad and his teachings. She was subsequently married to Uthman ibn Affan after the death of his first wife Ruqayyah.
Umm Kulthum (Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad) (d. 630). Daughter of the Prophet. She is said to have married ‘Utba, a son of Abu Lahab, the enemy of Islam, but to have been divorced by him at his father’s orders before the marriage was consummated. After the death of her sister Ruqayya, her brother-in-law ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, later the third caliph, married her during the battle of Badr.
Umm Kulthum is viewed as the daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah bint Khuwaylid by Sunni Muslims. Other Muslim sects such as Shia Muslims debate her being a daughter of Muhammed (or even of Khadijah).
Umm Kulthum was first married to Utaybah bin Abu Lahab. His father, Abu Lahab, forced Utbah to repudiate Umm Kulthum due to Abu Lahab's opposition to Muhammad and his teachings. She was subsequently married to Uthman ibn Affan after the death of his first wife Ruqayyah.
Unsuri, Abu’l-Qasim Hasan
Unsuri, Abu’l-Qasim Hasan (Abu’l-Qasim Hasan Unsuri) (Malik-us Shu'ara - King of Poets) (d. 1039/1040/1049). Persian poet. He owes his fame to a collection of poetry, which contains love poems and panegyrics. Among the latter, many are written in praise of the Ghaznavid Mahmud ibn Sebuktigin.
Abul Qasim Hasan Unsuri was a 10-11th century Persian (Tajik) poet. He is said to have been born in Balkh, today located in Afghanistan, and he eventually became a poet of the royal court, where he was given the title Malik-us Shu'ara (King of Poets). His Divan is said to have contained 30,000 distiches, of which only 2500 remain today.
Unsuri, Abu’l-Qasim Hasan (Abu’l-Qasim Hasan Unsuri) (Malik-us Shu'ara - King of Poets) (d. 1039/1040/1049). Persian poet. He owes his fame to a collection of poetry, which contains love poems and panegyrics. Among the latter, many are written in praise of the Ghaznavid Mahmud ibn Sebuktigin.
Abul Qasim Hasan Unsuri was a 10-11th century Persian (Tajik) poet. He is said to have been born in Balkh, today located in Afghanistan, and he eventually became a poet of the royal court, where he was given the title Malik-us Shu'ara (King of Poets). His Divan is said to have contained 30,000 distiches, of which only 2500 remain today.
Abu’l-Qasim Hasan Unsuri see Unsuri, Abu’l-Qasim Hasan
Malik-us Shu'ara see Unsuri, Abu’l-Qasim Hasan
King of Poets see Unsuri, Abu’l-Qasim Hasan
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