A touch of melancholy

LAST THURSDAY the National Arabic Music Ensemble, under conductor Selim Sahab, held a concert to commemorate the birthday of the late Farid El-Atrash. Composer, singer and actor, El- Atrash was one of the pioneering influences in the modernising of Arabic music in the early twentieth century.
Held at the Small Hall of the Cairo Opera House, the concert included performances by the Ensemble's stars Nashwa Abdel-Halim, Ahmed Effat, Afaf Radi, Mahmoud Darwish, Ayat Faourk, Amira Abu Zeid, Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar and Sayed Mansour, among others, while Sayed Mansour played the oud, performing variations on themes from El-Atrash's most famous compositions.
Born in 1907 into the Lebanese Druze family that spearheaded the rebellion against the French in the Druze Mountain after World War I, Farid El- Atrash moved with his family to Egypt in 1923, where he eventually made his reputation as a famous musician. When they first moved to Egypt, though, the family fell on hard times. Farid changed schools several times and eventually apprenticed himself to the composer Riyad El- Sunbati. The hard-working apprentice was highly recommended by El-Sunbati, and sang on a number of privately-owned Egyptian radio stations in the 1930's. When the stations were closed down and a national radio station was established, Farid was hired as an oud player in its orchestra, and later as a singer. Among his early artistic endeavours in Cairo was joining belly dancer and casino owner Badi'a Masabni's band as a player of the oud.
Farid's sister, Amal, also had talents as a singer and she assumed the memorable stage name Asmahan. Several filmmakers were attracted to the brother-sister phenomenon and wished to showcase them in a film. The two singers eventually starred in the hit movie Intisar Al-Shabab (now a classic of the Egyptian cinema) in 1941, with Farid composing all the music. It was the beginning of a phenomenally successful cinematic career, which lasted until the 1970s and during which Farid made 31 films. In the majority of his screen appearances the actor was typecast in the romantic lead role of a sad singer -- often assuming the name "Wahid" (literally lonely) for his character. Farid also collaborated with the dancer Samia Gamal, and managed to borrow enough money to produce a movie in which he co- starred with her. The success of Habib Al- Umr, released in 1947, ensured the performer a degree of financial security almost overnight.
His classic songs include "Al-Rabi'" [Spring] , "Awal Hamsah" [First Whisper], and the timeless tunes "Lahn Al-Khulud," "Tutah," and "Raqsitil Gamal," the latter two being dance pieces. His lighter songs, like "Nura Nura," "Hallet Layali," and "Gamil Gamal" remain extremely popular. Farid also made room in his repertoire for nationalistic sentiments, as in "Busat Al-Rih" [Flying Carpet], a conceptual tour sampling the musical styles of the Arab world. It is also rumoured that, in anticipation of an independent Palestine, he composed a national anthem, though no record has been found of it in his archives.
Farid El-Atrash was rumoured to have conducted a string of affairs with leading stars (including Samia Gamal and the singer Shadia) and society women of his time. The stormiest affair was perhaps his rumoured association with Queen Nariman, King Farouk's divorced second wife. Shortly before the Egyptian revolution, Farid had befriended her to the chagrin of the king, who had the singer forced out of the country. After the royal divorce, and following the outbreak of the 1952 revolution and the king's exile, Nariman returned to Egypt and the stormy love affair with Farid was the buzz of the tabloids for some time. Her family, however, rejected Farid as a suitable match for their daughter, which loss led Farid into a long period of depression. The role of the sad singer appeared to have come home to roost. And it was at this time that the health problems from which he was to suffer until the end of his life date.
Farid El-Atrash was considered by many the best oud player of his time, and was frequently referred to as "the king of oud." His meteoric rise to fame was no small accomplishment, especially as he broke onto a scene dominated by the gigantic presence of Mohamed Abdel-Wahab and Umm Kulthum, during an era when the new technologies of recording and film were reshaping every aspect of musical performance. In an effort to create a distinctive style of his own, Farid utilised both the flamenco and tango in his compositions, the former having a common maqam [Kurd] with Arabic music; the latter being the fashionable style in European music at the time. Farid even attempted what he called "operatic" works.
At his death in Beirut in 1974, Farid had still not fulfilled one of his greatest ambitions -- composing a song for Umm Kulthum. It was reported at the time that permission had been refused o bury him on the Druze Mountain, though in a public statement issued by his brother Fouad at the time it was stressed that it was Farid's wish to be buried in Cairo, where his sister had died.
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