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Asmahan

Asmahan (Template:Lang-ar Asmahān; Amal al-Atrash; 25 November 1918 at Mediterranean Sea – 14 July 1944 in Nile River, Egypt)[1] was a Syrian-Egyptian[2] singer and actress. Having immigrated to Egypt in childhood, she became the apprentice of Egyptian classical music pioneers, Dawood Hosni, Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad.[3][4] She also sang the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Hers was the only voice in Arab music to ever pose a serious competition to that of Umm Kulthum,[5] considered to be the Arab world's most distinguished singer of the 20th century.[6] Her mysterious, untimely death by drowning at the age of twenty-six drew speculations about tribulations in her personal life and an espionage role in World War II.

Early life

Asmahan was born to Fahd al-Atrash, a Syrian Druze from Suwayda, and 'Alia al-Mundhir, a Lebanese Druze from Hasbaya.[7] Her father came from the Druze al-Atrash clan, well-known in Syria for its role in fighting against the French occupation.[8]

Asmahan's father was Governor of the district of Demirci in Turkey, during the last days of the Ottoman Empire. When Syria fell to the allies in 1918 Asmahan's father feared revenge, and on November 18, 1918 he fled the country with his two sons and pregnant wife. They took the boat from İzmir to Beirut, and Asmahan was born on that boat. She was named "Amal" (Template:Lang-ar Āmāl), meaning "hopes". She was also called "Emily", but always preferred the name "Amal". Fahd later worked as a judge in Suwayda.[9]

Following the Adham Khanjar incident in 1922, the al-Atrash home in al-Qrayya (town in Jabal al-Druze) was bombed by French forces. 'Alia fled with her children to Damascus and then to Beirut. Despite orders from Fahd, 'Alia refused to return.[10] Asmahan later recalled her childhood years as "untouched by anything truly bad".[11] 'Alia and the three children travelled to Beirut, then to Haifa, Palestine and eventually immigrated to Egypt.[12]

'Alia and her children after arrival in Egypt

Immigration to Egypt

'Alia and the three children chose to immigrate to Cairo, Egypt because 'Alia was aware of a written correspondence relationship between Egypt's then nationalist prime minister Saad Zaghloul and her husband's relative, Sultan al-Atrash.[12][13][14] According to family accounts, 'Alia was permitted to enter Egypt under the sponsorship of Saad Zaghloul. 'Alia and her three children, Fuad, Farid al-Atrash, and Asmahan were later naturalized by the government as Egyptian citizens.[2]

Asmahan and her family first lived in an apartment in a humble section of Cairo. Her mother did laundry and sewing to support the family,[15] while Asmahan and her brothers attended a French Catholic school. In order to receive waivers for the high cost of tuition, 'Alia registered them under the alias Kusah (meaning "zucchini") rather than try to convince school officials that members of the wealthy[citation needed] Al-Atrash family were destitute.[16] After the family name was later revealed, 'Alia began receiving a monthly stipend from a benefactor, allowing her children to afford the school as well as a nicer apartment on Habib Shalabi Steert.[17]

Egypt's Influence on Asmahan's Career

File:Farid Asmahan.jpg
Asmahan and her brother Farid

Amal's vocal talent was discovered at an early age. She used to sing at home and in her Egyptian school's special celebrations.[citation needed] She loved particularly to sing songs by Umm Kulthoum[18] and Mohamed Abdel Wahab[19].

Once her brother Farid was receiving at home one of the biggest musicians in Egypt, the famous composer Dawood Hosni. He happened to hear her singing while she was in her room, so he demanded to see her immediately and asked her to sing again, so Amal sang one more time and Dawood Hosni was very impressed and pleased, after she finished he told her that he once had a pupil who had a beautiful voice who had died at a very young age before knowing the fame she would have deserved, so therefore she was named after that pupil and called Asmahan and so henceforth Amal became Asmahan.[citation needed]

File:Asmahan1.jpg
Picture of Asmahan

Asmahan's rise to fame was quick; she was not even fourteen years old when she was presented at the prestigious Cairo Opera House, in a concert setting, on the Columbia Records label,[20][21] and she performed songs composed by her mentors[3], composers Farid Ghosn, Dawood Hosni, Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad. At the age of sixteen, Asmahan was solicited by a record company in Egypt to register her first album which featured her first song Ya Nar Fouadi by Farid Ghosn. Asmahan dropped out of school, but she had already joined one of the most prestigious music academies in Egypt.

Her mentors gave her vocal training and music lessons. Hosni volunteered to teach Asmahan to play Oud; Qasabgi volunteered to teach her the maqams and how to transition between them; and Ahmad volunteered to teach her the principles of enunciation and singing.[3] With their help, she was offered a contract with Columbia Records.[22]

Asmahan sang almost exclusively in the Egyptian Arabic dialect.[23] When Asmahan was asked to sing of cultural patriotism and love, she sang of Egypt."[24] Asmahan was asked to sing in the aristocratic family celebrations, and to get their support, she felt obligated to sing songs of tribute to Egypt and its rulers.[25] She also started singing at Mary Mansour's night club alongside her brother Farid.[citation needed]

Asmahan's older brother, Fuad, and other Druze relatives considered a career in entertainment for a girl to be disgraceful.[20] Culturally, "Egypt was a planetary distance from the small villages of the Druze."[22] and it was difficult for Asmahan's relatives to accept Asmahan's integration into the heterogeneous Egyptian social scene. The clearly-defined divisions, along religious lines, of the Syrian countryside did not operate in Egypt. During two bouts of marriage to her cousin and moving back to Syria, Asmahan's musical career would come to a complete halt, and when she ultimately rejected a return to "respectability" by returning to Egypt and her singing career, Asmahan was hated by her relatives and Syrian society. When her first film, "Intisar al-Shabab," was released in Syria, one young Druze shot at the screen when the character played by Asmahan appeared.[26] Asmahan was regarded as "a sophisticated foreigner, a binational, or a trans-national" by her own clan,[27] and when the marriage to her cousin failed, she returned immediately to Egypt, before she had divorce documents in hand.[26]

Personal life

In 1933, Asmahan's cousin, Hassan al-Atrash, came to Cairo and proposed marriage, requesting that Asmahan abandon her musical career. [28] She agreed on condition that they live in Damascus rather than Jabal, winter in Cairo, and she would never be required to wear the traditional hijab.[29][30] They married and moved to Damascus, then later to Suwayda.[31] Asmahan gave birth to her daughter, Kamellia. Eventually, Asmahan missed her career and the life she had lived in Cairo;[32] and in 1939, she and Hassan were divorced. Asmahan told her biographer, Mohamed al-Taba'i, that the divorce was not the result of any shortcoming on the part of Hassan, for he loved her. She did not love him back; "she loved Egypt and wanted to return to it," and her mother concurred.[33] In her final confrontation with her cousin at Mena House Hotel in Giza, she told him, "I stood with you for independence and liberation, I did. But, I was created for another purpose. I prefer the work of Farid, and the work of Umm Kulthum, and of art." He would divorce her immediately.[34] After that she returned to Cairo and resumed her singing career, where she married Egyptian director Ahmed Baderkhan, but they were also soon divorced. In 1941 she went back to Syria and re-married her cousin Hassan for a short time, allegedly as a cover to espionage activity. She would attempt suicide twice to gain her divorce from Hassan and he posted snipers on the Palestinian-Syrian and Palestinian-Lebanese borders with orders to shoot and kill Asmahan if she attempted to re-enter either Syria or Lebanon. Finally, she married Egyptian director Ahmed Salem. Asmahan's true intentions in those marriages were for her to settle back in Egypt as a married woman.[35] Biographies of Asmahan suggest she was happier being an Egyptian than a Syrian.[36]

In 1941, Asmahan met Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egypt's most distinguished singer and composer, and she starred with him in his Magnun Layla (Besotted with Layla) operette[37], and it was Abdel Wahab who introduced her then to her future best friend, fiance, and biographer, Mohamed al-Taba'i. For the following two years, her private life may have been too public. Journalists wallowed in her racy conduct in Cairo, Jerusalem, and Beirut. There were alleged affairs with a succession of prominent Egyptian men, including journalist Mohamed al-Tabaʿi, banker Talaat Pasha Harb, and royal aide Ahmed Pasha Hassanein. Her brothers, Fuad and Farid, were no longer able to chaperon her[38] She was, in many respects, her own worst enemy. Smoking, drinking, and staying up late nights would deteriorate her voice and her already weak lung.[39]

Asmahan was proud of her background,[25] and she always mentioned her father and his cousin, Sultan al-Atrash, to clarify her ancestry — once saying to al-Taba'i, after he had just insulted her in a domestic dispute, "Can you tell me whom you amount to in this country?" He replied, "No one!" So, she said, "Don't you know who I am? Why I am the daughter of Fahd al-Atrash and cousin to the Amir al-Atrash and the Druze revolutionary hero Sultan al-Atrash, and then you, who amount to no one, come here and insult me?" Al-Taba'i laughed and replied to her that her cousin, the proclaimed Amir, amounts to no more than an alley chief "شيخ الحارة" in Egypt.[40][41] Al-Taba'i affirmed that, contrary to public perception, Asmahan's Atrash family was not princely, "there was not a single prince or princess in al-Atrash family." The truth of the matter was that Hassan al-Atrash was the mayor of Jabal al-Druze. The French word for mayor, Le Maire, was deliberately manipulated to the Arabic word, al-Amir, or Prince, but his true title was Le Maire Hassan al-Atrash, not al-Amir Hassan al-Atrash. Asmahan was not even a first cousin of Hassan's, but a third cousin, twice removed.[40] Al-Taba'i related that, because of a chronic "inferiority complex" that she suffered, Asmahan herself propagated these falsifications when she referred to her family.[42]

Voice characteristics

Asmahan

Known for her wide vocal range, Asmahan's voice could cover the low notes and oriental modes and sub-modes to reach the upper soprano measures; this is shown in her song Ya Toyour where she reaches a high A with ease and brio. Asmahan's voice could be seen as the mixture of two oriental divas' voices opposed in style and interpretation Fairouz, famous of her angelic tone of voice who was among the first to adopt the western (old Italian school of singing) singing method using a head resonance technique that is nearer to falsetto at a time where the nasal and chest resonance technique was reigning in the Arabic singing scene, and who despite the fact that her voice is hard to be classified between the mezzo-contralto (alto) and mezzo-soprano could reach high notes yet with less power than Asmahan but have a wide range of dynamics ranging from pianissimo to fortissimo from bottom to top, and Sabah (singer) who is famous for her powerful voice whose technique is similar to the American Broadway belting technique (belt (music)), alongside her phenomenal long breath where she can hold a high note for more than one minute.

Too much pressure (chest resonance technique) will deprive the singer from using a lot of dynamics as they will lose all the pianissimo and the bridge between the head and chest voices will be very difficult, not to mention that the legato line singing will be impossible and that the vocal range will shorten where the head register becomes weak. On the other hand, the head voice technique (typical of the Western classical and operatic singing) will eliminate any chest resonance so the voice will become too sweet or artificial and consequently lose all the power and dramatic capacities required for the oriental Tarab genre

Asmahan's voice was so powerful that despite her heavy singing she was still able to use her head register and sing in a very controlled tone of voice a very demanding high pitched musical line with a very impressing and elegant Legato (the vocalization) in Ya touyour by Mohamed El Qasabgi and in a light color of voice (reaching a high A=LA) then return to sing the medium notes and reach the low register with the typical Arabic (nasal+chest) technique. Besides the fact that she was the first Arabic singer to use the classical western technique, very few performers are able to alternate two opposed styles of interpretation and technique in one song.

Some say that Nahwand had similar vocal abilities as Asmahan. Another specialty about her talent was her strength of breath and its duration, accompanied by her ability to switch between various musical notes in one musical sentence, a talent only shared with Fairouz.

Role in World War II

In 1941, during World War II, Asmahan came back to the French Mandate of Syria (Syria was under the rule of Vichy France at that time). She was on a secret mission to convince her people in Jabal al-Druze to allow the British and Free French forces to enter Syria through their territory without a fight. The British and Free French promised the independence of Syria in return, and the Druze agreed. After the Allies secured Syria during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign, General Charles de Gaulle visited Syria and met Asmahan. When the allies failed to carry out their promise for Syrian independence she tried to contact the nazis in Turkey, but was stopped at the border and sent to Lebanon.[43]

Asmahan had told Mohamed al-Tabaʿi that she was to receive the sums £300, £1,000, and £40,000 from the British for her services to the allies.[44][45][46] General Charles de Gaulle’s representative in Cairo was General Catroux. Catroux’s délégué in Damascus, Colonel Collet, stated that the British gave money to Asmahan (and to other Druze men, in his presence) and sent her to the Jabal to secure the support of the Druze before the Allies’ invasion.[47]

Death

On 14 July 1944, a car carrying Asmahan and a female friend of hers crashed into the River Nile after the driver lost control. Without a door on their side both ladies got stuck and drowned. Nevertheless, the driver managed to escape.

These suspicious circumstances gave rise to many rumors and much controversy. Tabloids were rife with conspiracy theories. Among those accused were British intelligence – after many reports claiming she was working with them – of getting rid of her after she handed over some military information to the Germans. The German Gestapo was also accused of killing her for helping the British.

Asmahan was buried in Egypt in accordance with her wishes[48] alongside her two brothers, Fuad and Farid al-Atrash,[49] in the Fustat plain in Cairo, which she and brother Farid, along with Egyptian crooner[50] Abdel Halim Hafez, had restored to some of its former glory.[51]

Legacy

The Egyptian Media Production City and a private investor jointly produced a television series depicting the life (and death) of Asmahan.[52] The Arabic series debuted during the month of Ramadan in 2008. Asmahan was played by Syrian actress Sulaf Fawakherji.[53]

Discography

Filmography

  • Intissar al-Shabab (Triumph of the Youth), 1941
  • Gharam wa Intiqam (Love and Revenge), 1944

References

  1. ^ Newspaper Article al-Mada, "وشاءت لها الاقدار أن ترحل في الماء أيضا في حادث غامض في ترعة طلخا على نهر النيل قرب مدينة المنصورة يوم 14– 7 – 1944"
  2. ^ a b Newspaper Article by Abdel-Fadil Taha 2008-05-23 Al-Quds Al-Arabi, "وحصلت الأسرة علي الجنسية المصرية وظلت تنعم بها ومنهم اسمهان بالطبع"
  3. ^ a b c Lebanese Army Journal, Issue Number 241, July 2005
  4. ^ Al-Atrash, Majid (2005), Asmahan: Amirat at-tarab was-saif wan-nada (Asmahan: The princess of music, war and grace) Al-'Adyat magazine, p.75–77, in Arabic
  5. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 85
  6. ^ Prominent Egyptians - Egyptian Government State Information Service
  7. ^ <Zuhur 1998, p. 81
  8. ^ Provence, Michael (2005). The great Syrian revolt and the rise of Arab nationalism (illustrated ed.). University of Texas Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780292706804.
  9. ^ <Zuhur 1998, p. 81
  10. ^ Zuhur 2000, pp. 38
  11. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 36
  12. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, p. 38-39
  13. ^ Interview with Fuad al-Atrash. Time 4:34.
  14. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 39
  15. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 41
  16. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 41, 53
  17. ^ Zuhur 2000, pp. 42, 44
  18. ^ Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. p. 82.
  19. ^ Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. p. 26.
  20. ^ a b Zuhur 1998, p. 82
  21. ^ Asmahan's Secrets, quoting Nimat Fuad. p. 73
  22. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, p. 54
  23. ^ The Druzes in the Jewish state By Kais Firro. page 240
  24. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 216
  25. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, p. 13
  26. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, p. 98
  27. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 95
  28. ^ Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. p. 51.
  29. ^ Moubayed, Sami (2008-09-20). "The saga of the rebel princess". Asia Times. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  30. ^ Steel and Silk. by Sami Moubayed. p. 523.
  31. ^ http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JI20Ak04.html
  32. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 69-70
  33. ^ Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. pp. 51.
  34. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 99
  35. ^ Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. pp. 70-71.
  36. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 19
  37. ^ Baraka, Mohamed. Al-Ahram Weekly. Issue #933. 2009-02-05.
  38. ^ Zuhur 1998, p. 81
  39. ^ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, by the Gale Group, Inc.
  40. ^ a b Zuhur 2000, p. 37
  41. ^ Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. pp. 108-109.
  42. ^ Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. pp. 40-41.
  43. ^ http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JI20Ak04.html
  44. ^ Al-Taba'i, Mohamed (2008), "Asmahan Tells Her Story." Dar al-Shorouq Press, First Edition. pp. 142-146.
  45. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 115
  46. ^ al-Raida by Beirut University College. Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World. p. 42.
  47. ^ Mardam Bey, Salma (1998) Syria's quest for independence, 1939-1945. Ithaca Press. p. 82
  48. ^ Zuhur 2000, p. 165
  49. ^ Classical Arabic Music Website.
  50. ^ Baraka, Mohamed. Al-Ahram Newspaper Article. Issue No. 943, 16 - 22 April 2009.
  51. ^ El Kadi, Galila and Alain Bonnamy (2007) Architecture for the dead. American University in Cairo Press. p. 96
  52. ^ al-Thawra Newspaper article
  53. ^ Daily News Egypt. October 6, 2008

Sources

  • Zuhur, Sherifa (1998), Images of enchantment: visual and performing arts of the Middle East, American University in Cairo Press, ISBN 9774244672
  • Zuhur, Sherifa (2000), Asmahan's Secrets: Woman, War, and Song, University of Texas Press, ISBN 9780292798076{{citation}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Zuhur, Sherifa (2001). Colors of enchantment: theater, dance, music and the visual arts of the Middle East. American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9774246071.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
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