WATANI International
22 February 2009
Umm Kulthoum (1904 – 1975), the topmost diva in Egypt and the Arab world for a good half-century, was lovingly remembered on the 34th anniversary of her death earlier this month. To honour the occasion, a concert of her music and singing was held at the International Music Centre at Manesterli Palace in Cairo. The palace houses the Umm Kulthoum Museum where a magnificent collection of her belongings are displayed. Watani commemorates the beloved diva by a tour in her museum.
Tribute to the diva
Georgette Sadeq
During the past century, Egypt was frequently denoted as the land of the Nile, the Pyramids, and the voice of Umm Kulthoum—colloquially pronounced Umm Kulsoum. Today, many may wonder what voice was that which was so readily used to define Egypt. The voice belonged to the foremost diva of the Arab World whose concerts, which were among the most elegant Cairo events, were held regularly the evening of the first Thursday of every month and broadcast by Radio Cairo. The event would almost empty Cairo of its traffic as people would gather in homes or coffee shops, tuned to Radio Cairo, for some three hours of superb music and entrancing singing.
Village girl
It is not known exactly when Umm Kulthoum was born. The date is generally believed to have been 1898, but since this was a time when births were not officially registered her ID carried the approximate date 1904, as determined clinically. She was born in the Delta village of Tamay al-Zahaira to a father who was a religious chanter roaming the nearby villages to recite Qur’an and chant in various ceremonies. Umm Kulthoum went to the village kuttab (religious school) where children learnt reading, writing, and some rudimentary Arithmetic. When she was ten her father realised she was particularly gifted and began to take her to perform with him on his trips.
Umm Kulthoum first visited Cairo in 1919 when she performed in a private party at Ezzeddin Yakan’s palace in Helwan and was highly applauded. For four years she visited Cairo for sporadic performances until she finally moved there in 1923. In Cairo she met the prominent poet Ahmed Ramy (1892 -1981) whose poetry she had previously sung. Their relation gave rise to a long successful singing career which lasted until her death in 1975. Ramy became for her a lyricist, an advisor, and a friend. She also met other prominent figures on the music scene and forged long-lasting relations with them, among whom were music writer Mohamed al-Asabgi.
Souma
To retain her village girl modesty Umm Kulthoum wore a Bedouin veil until 1926 when she finally took it off. Henceforward, she paid particular attention to the quality of her songs; she acquired a reputation for being very picky as far as the music and the lyrics were concerned. She formed her own oriental band of players who would remain with her for decades on.
And it was then that the public gave her the fond nickname Souma.
In 1931 she first left Egypt to the Levant where she was welcomed by the Egyptian royal anthem. The following year saw the first microphone in music concerts but Umm Kulthoum adamantly rejected its use insisting that it undermined her voice.
Once radio broadcast was launched in Egypt in 1934, Umm Kulthoum was signed in and her concerts ever since broadcast the first Thursday evening of every month. 1935 marked the beginning of a brilliant career in film with the shooting of Widad. She played and sang in six films until 1947, gaining wide popularity throughout the Arab World.
Star of the orient
Umm Kulthoum’s singing career mirrored the Egyptian scene in many ways. During the Suez War in 1956 she sang her famous Wallah zaman ya silahi which later became Egypt’s national anthem until the 1970s when President Sadat, upon the people’s request, replaced it with the current one, since the former was considered too reminiscent of war.
Following the Six Day War in 1967 Umm Kulthoum directed the proceeds of almost all her concerts to the military effort, travelling to various Arab destinations to do so, and performing in Paris twice.
The 1960s saw her join forces with Egypt’s top composer Mohamed Abdel-Wahab in a collection of songs that remain widely popular even with today’s young people. She was decorated scores of times in Egypt and abroad.
The first Thursday in January 1973 was destined to mark Umm Kulthoum’s last concert. Illness had begun to get the better of her. The concert was short; it ended in tears both on her part and that of the audience. She died in February 1975.
In 1954 Umm Kulthoum had married Hassan al-Hifnawi, a medical professor, but never had any children. She was named Kawkab al-Sharq (Star of the Orient) in 1965, a name which denotes her to this day. For some three-quarters of a century she had entranced Arab audiences with her full, mellow, strong voice. She sang with singular character, passion and sensitivity, projecting an aura of exceptional finesse. Not surprisingly, many today see her as one of a kind, never to be replaced.
In the palace
Today Umm Kulthoum museum stands gracefully on the banks of the Nile in Geziret al-Roda in Manial, Cairo. It is part of a rich architectural site which includes the ninth century Nilometre and the splendid Manesterli Palace, built by Hassan Fouad Pasha al-Manasterli in 1851. Manasterli was governor of Cairo in 1854 and Interior Minister in 1857. The museum, which occupies a good portion of Manesterli Palace takes up some 250 square metres.
In 1998 a committee was formed to collect the belongings of Umm Kulthoum that family and friends were willing to donate to the nascent museum, and on 28 December 2001 the museum was opened by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak.
The museum opens with a very large photograph on the left of the entrance depicting Umm Kulthoum with the then President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, vice president Anwar al-Sadat and composer Mohamed al-Mougi. The photograph was taken in 1965 when Umm Kulthoum sang in Cairo University Hall to celebrate the occasion of the election of Nasser for a second term. On the right hand is a showcase of Umm Kulthoum’s sunglasses, some studded with diamonds. Another case shows her famous crescent-shaped diamond brooch.
Height of fashion
Umm Kulthoum was famed for her superb elegance. Her concerts used to be the talk of the town, with everyone eyeing her dress and jewellery, as well as the scarf she always held in her hand as she sang. When asked why she held it she said it helped dissipate the passionate tension. She always wore full-length gowns in her concerts long before they became fashionable; when they became the height of fashion in the 1970s Egyptians termed them “Umm Kulthoum” fashion. The museum showcases eight of her dresses which are in very good condition. Captions cite the date of the concert on which each dress was worn and the song sang then. One dress is adorned with pearls and is said to have been a gift from an Arab prince.
In a long hall, a collection of her handbags and shoes made of natural and alligator leather is displayed.
All the medals and decorations Umm Kulthoum was granted during her lifetime are on splendid display.
Endearing
Among the items displayed is a gramophone given to Umm Kulthoum by “His Master’s Voice”, and a number of microphones used to record her songs for Radio Cairo.
There are various letters of appreciation thanking her for her volunteer singing for the benefit of many institutions.
There is as well a copy of the first contract she signed with the Egyptian Radio on 4 June 1934 when she earned 25 Piastres for every performance. The handwritten drafts, many in Ramy’s hand, of the songs of Umm Kulthoum are on display, as well as volumes upon volumes of paper clippings of articles, news, reviews, written on her or studies.
The walls of the museum are adorned with pictures of Umm Kulthoum; among them is one of her warmly shaking hands with Egypt’s then first lady Gihan al-Sadat, and another overcome with shock as she listens to the radio broadcasting the news of Nasser’s death in 1970. She had then been in Moscow for a performance which she directly cancelled and returned to Cairo for Nasser’s funeral.
There is also a panoramic collection of photographs taken during the shooting of Umm Kulthoum’s films. One particularly endearing picture shows her carrying a child with special needs as he playfully pulls her hair from under her hat.
Last respects
The visitor to the museum should never miss viewing the documentary on Umm Kulthoum which depicts part of her life, the crowds who—dressed in their most elegant—used to cram the theatres for her concerts. Her voice can be heard to tell how her father taught Qur’an for one Piaster a week. “He asked my mother to enrol my brother in the Kuttab but it was she who insisted that I should learn as well.”
The film is narrated by the warm voice of the veteran radio announcer Amal Fahmy who explains how much Umm Kulthoum remained, no matter how great she had become, the loving daughter of rural Egypt. She loved the people and they returned her love with passion; thousands showed up to pay their last respects by marching in her funeral till she was buried in the grave she had prepared for herself in Basateen, Cairo, in 1975.