Arabic: سيد درويش Born: March 17, 1982 Died: September15, 1923 Sayyed Darwish is considered one of the pioneers of Arabic music and a leader of the ‘cultural renaissance' during Egypt's 1919 Revolution. Darwish's life was a lightning trajectory in the history of music, and his influence went beyond the actual frame of musical production. He died at the peak of his career, at the age of 41. He was much ignored during his lifetime and was revered only after his death. When his father died at an early age, Darwish was left to support his family. He often worked hard-labor jobs, such as bricklaying. Yet those experiences greatly influenced his music, which was close to Egypt's working class. Historian Frederic LaGrange wrote of Darwish, “In the modern Arab historiography of music… Sayyed Darwish has become an icon symbolizing progress, modernity, and the shift from ‘oriental music', an elitist music made for and still bathing in the original Ottoman matrix, to ‘Egyptian music', the first figuralist expression of a people's soul and their nationalist demands.” Darwish wrote 26 musicals ands 260 songs. His most well known songs are: Salma Ya Salama, Zuruni Kull Sana Marra, and Al-Hilwa Diy Qamit Ti'gin. Many of his songs were later sung by the greats of Arab music, including Egypt's beloved Umm Kulthum, Fayrouz, Sabah Fakhri, and Mohamed Abdel-Wahab. Egypt's national anthems were derived from one of Mustafa Kamel's most well known speeches, which Darwish set it to music.
