All About That Umm Kulthum: Arab Diva of 20th Century Revisited

posted on: Jan 31, 2015

“Imagine a singer with the virtuosity of Joan Sutherland or Ella Fitzgerald, the public persona of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis, and you have Umm Kulthum, the most accomplished singer of her century in the Arab world,” writes Musicologist Virginia Danielson and present Interim Library Director of NYU Abu Dhabi. She is also the author of “The voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century”.

Umm Kulthum was the Arab diva of the 20th Century. Renowned opera soprano Maria Callas described her voice as “incomparable”. French President Charles de Gaulle referred to her as “The Lady”, and it’s said that Bob Dylan was quoted once as saying, “She’s great. She really is. Really great.”

“In order not to risk exposing a young Umm to public disapproval, her father dressed her as a boy in a coat and Bedouin head-covering while she sang.” – Ghada Alatrash, Special to Weekend Review
Umm Kulthum was a voice born in Egypt but one that transcended geographical and political boundaries and found its way into the hearts of all Arabs across the Arab world whether rich or poor, religious or non, white-collars or blue. She is an exceptional phenomenon who continues to be loved and celebrated today, 40 years after her death.

Her performances

Umm Kulthum recorded about 300 songs over the course of a career that spanned over 50 years, from about 1910 when she began singing with her father at weddings and until her illness in 1973. For almost 40 years, her monthly concerts were broadcast via live radio on the first Thursday night of each month reaching millions of listeners in Egypt and across the Arab world.

Umm Kulthum typically devoted two or three songs to an evening of her concerts, with each song lasting between 30 and 60 minutes and divided up by lengthy breaks. The durations of her performances varied and were dependent on her interactions with her audience. She repeated a single line or stance over and over by altering her emotional emphasis and exploring different musical maqams (modal scales).

Her audience’s appeals for repetitions of different stanzas fluctuated the length of the same song from 45 to 90 minutes, offering a different and unique experience for the same song. She was able to spontaneously produce multiple versions of the same line, and according to some, over 50 times in a row. It is said that she never sang a line the same way twice.

There was always a personal relationship between Umm Kulthum and her audience during her performances. She would repeat lines again and again until her audience was satisfied. Her performances were more like spiritual encounters, romantic dialogues and amorous conversations with euphoric crowds cheering, whistling and shouting long-stretched “Allah” in praise and admiration.

Source: www.albawaba.com