They say that the only time the Arabs were united was when Om Kalthoum, the famous Egyptian singer, was around. Born most probably in 1898 in the village of Tamai El-Zahira, el-Daqahliya Governorate, she was a typical country girl who recited the Holy Qur’an and sang religious songs, especially the tawashih and mawawil.
She was very popular when the small village celebrated big feasts, particularly the moulids (Muslim Saints’ birthdays). Back then, in 1920s, most of the popular songs were of very low quality especially their themes and lyrics. An example was the song “Draw the Curtains so the Neighbors Don’t See Us”.
At that early age, Om Kalthoum was introduced to Abul Ella Mohamed, who taught her the principles of Arabic song and composed a few songs for her. He helped this ambitious, unprecedented talent to raise the quality of Arabic songs to a very sophisticated, classical level.
She sang poems written by Ahmed Shawqi, Khayam, Hafez Ibrahim and many other famous poets. She became the ‘Queen of Arab Singers’ to the extent that she used to perform publicly every first Thursday of the month and the show was broadcast live on local radio, with the streets blocked with people rushing home early from work to listen.
Whenever she performed, the streets were dead – not just in Cairo but in other Arab Capitals too. Everybody was at home listening attentively to Om Kalthoum who had the talent to nourish the soul, also the ears and fill every Arab from east to west and north to south with great joy, as if goddess Isis had been reincarnated.
She would perform for between three and five hours. Her main composer to start with was Mohamed El-Qassabgi and then she collaborated with a duet – the composer Ryad el-Sonbati and Ahmed Rami, the poet and lyricist. She also sang for the composer Zakaria Ahmed and lyricist Beiram Al Tunsi.
In the last decade of her life, she finally teamed up with the legendary Egyptian musician Mohamed Abd El Wahab for what was known as “the summit meeting”, the fruit of which was the song “Inta-Omry” or “You are my Life”. That was followed by ten other songs. At the same time, Om- Kalthoum started working with many other young musicians, such as Mohamed Almougi, Baleigh Hamdi, Sayyed Mekawi,…etc.
Om Kalthoum enriched the musical heritage of Egypt and the Arab world. She became a symbol of Arab unity and leadership.
When the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (Cultnat) launched its programme to document Egypt’s musical heritage, it started with Om Kalthoum. Cultnat has produced a book containing a list of her works and the lyrics of her songs, accompanied by a CD that contained extracts of the songs.
