| Sabah
Fakhri |
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Sabah
Fakhri has been the singer number one in Syria for over three
decades. He is a strong advocate of traditional Arabic music
and with his exceptional voice he played a significant role
in preserving and reviving the Syrian folklore and traditional
singing. He is presently the head of the Union of Syrian Artists.
1.
Sibouni Ya Naas
belongs to the Egyptian repertoire and was composed by Sayed
Darwish (1892- 1923).
2.
Yamourrou 'Ojban
is a Muwashah, a song
usually based on an Arab-Andalusian poem which is common in
the countries of the eastern Mediterranean as well as Egypt
and North Africa.
3.
Sayd El 'Asaari
also belongs
to the Egyptian repertoire and was composed by Zakariya Ahmad
(1896-1961).
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| Fairouz |
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| Fairuz
began her singing career in 1952 and since then she has been
the leading singer in Lebanon.She made over 800 songs and
many musical plays and films. Her songs express romantic love,
nostalgia for village life and the homeland. She also sang
folk tunes and adaptations of popular songs. Most of her music
and lyrics were written by the Rahbani Brothers, who, although
they emphasized oriental instruments, incorporated European
instruments and European rhythms.
The
first two of these songs were rearrangements by the Rahbani
Brothers of selected masterpieces, Ya
Ana Ya Ana
(Classical
world music/40thSymphony/ Mozart), Ya
Akidal Hajibayni (Arabic
poetry).
The Latter two were composed by the Rahbani Brothers, Bisan
being
one of the many national songs she sang for other Arab countries,
and 'Oudak
Rannan
beautifully remixed here by her son
Ziad, with whom she moved along to the heart of modern Arabic
music.
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| Hamza
El Din |
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| Hamza
El Din is one of the greatest oud players of our time. He
is a maestro, composer, concert and recording artist, ethnomusicologist,
painter, author, lecturer in Islamic, Nubian and Arabic Music.
He was born in Wadi Halfa, a Nubian area in north Sudan, along
the Nile River. While studying engineering in Cairo, he took
up the oud. Later, while holding down full-time jobs, he began
studying music formally at the Conservatory Of Music in Cairo.
During this time and during subsequent study at the Academy
of St. Cicelia in Rome, his work began to combine elements
of Nubian and Egyptian traditional music. In 1964, he made
his first recording, Music Of Nubia, for Vanguard Recordings.
In the same year, he embarked on his first concert tour of
the United States. Since then, he has been traveling, performing
and teaching music in North America, Europe, the Middle East,
Asia and Australia. His music has captured the interest of
millions of listeners from around the world. Hamza is now
based in Oakland and he sees his music as a mixture of Western,
Middle-Eastern and Japanese roots. |
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| Nour
Mehanna |
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Another
great young voice from Syria, and a very popular singer. Nour
was a reciter of the Holy Koran before he chose to become
a singer. At the beginning of his musical career, he was singing
mostly Syrian and Arabic traditional songs, and was an excellent
"Tarab" singer. Recently Nour joined other Arab singers of
his generation in making new-wave trendy songs, but he did
not give up the Tarab style which he became famous for. The
two songs we present here belong to this genre.
Emta Ezzaman is one of Muhammad
Abdel Wahab's most beautiful songs, and he sang it in 1932.
Khamrat Al Hobb belongs to the Syrian traditional repertoire.
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| Cheikh
Meftah |
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Cheikh
Meftah is one of the traditional Algerian singers who have
in the last few years gained wide fame in the West, owing
to the growing interest in Rai music and its origins. In addition
to the younger Rai legends such as Cheb Khaled and Cheb Mami,
traditional Rai singers like Cheikha Remitta, Cheikh Djelloul
and Cheikh Meftah are becoming celebrities in Europe and are
performing in prestigious concert halls, often with famous
European artists.
This song by Cheikh Meftah is a traditional Algerian song
in which the local guellal (metallic drum) and gaspa (rosewood
flute) are used. You can hear the crude music unpolished and
without high-tech production. |
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