Farid al-Atrash ( ar, فريد الأطرش; October 19, 1916 – December 26, 1974), also written Farid El-Atrache, was a Syrian-Egyptian composer, singer, virtuoso
oud player, and actor. Having immigrated to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
at the age of only nine years old with his mother and siblings, he studied there under numerous respected musicians.
Al-Atrash embarked on a highly successful career spanning more than four decades—recording 500 songs and starring in 31 movies. Sometimes referred to as "malek al-oud", he is one of the most important figures of 20th- century Arab music.
Early life
Al-Atrash was born in
Al-Qurayya, in southern Syria to the
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
princely
al-Atrash family who fought the French colonial army. His father was Syrian and his mother was Lebanese.
As a young child, al-Atrash emigrated with his mother and siblings to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, escaping the French occupation. Later, they were naturalized by the Egyptian government as citizens. Farid's mother sang and played the Oud, which spurred his musical interest at an early age.
As a child and young adult, al-Atrash sang within school events. He studied at Egypt's
music conservatory and became an apprentice of the famous Egyptian composer
Riad Al Sunbati. In the 1930s, al-Atrash began his professional singing career by working for privately owned Egyptian radio stations. Eventually, he was hired as an oud player for the national radio station and later as a singer. His sister,
Asmahan
Amal al-Atrash ( ar, آمال الأطرش ', North Levantine ; November 25, 1918 – July 14, 1944), , was also a talented singer, and for a while they worked together. In 1941, they starred in their first successful movie ''Intisar a l-Shabab'' (انتصار الشباب – ''The Triumph of Youth'', 1941), in which Farid himself composed all the music.
Family
Farid and his sister Amal, along with their brother Fouad, belonged to the religious minority Druze clan of their parents, Princess Alia and Prince Fahd al-Atrash. (Asmar 1998) His younger sister, Asmahan, evidenced similar musical talent in her teens, becoming one of the most popular female vocalists and cinema stars in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Farid is better known than Asmahan because her career was interrupted by her death in an accident in 1944. Yet he was initially overshadowed by his sister's talent and popularity. With maturity and the forging of a successful performance formula, Farid became famous in his own right. Even today, the reference to the given name "Farid" in the context of Arabic music or popular culture is immediately understood to denote al-Atrash himself.
Musical career
Al-Atrash had a long and colorful music career lasting four decades. He composed musically diverse songs, and was a highly regarded composer, singer and instrumentalist. Al-Atrash maintained that although some of his music had western musical influence, he always stayed true to Arab music principles. Although the majority of his compositions were romantic love songs, he also composed several patriotic and religious songs.
One of al-Atrash's most unusual and distinguishable traits was his voice. High and mellow at the start of his career, it evolved into a wider, deeper sound.
In many of his songs, and nearly all of his concerts, al-Atrash would sing a ''
mawal'', which is a local folk Egyptian slow voice improvisation of a few poetic lines. These improvisations sometimes lasted up to 15 minutes. The mawal was a favorite of his fans. Some of the most famous songs include "Rabeeh" (Spring), "Awal Hamsa" (first whisper), "Hekayat Gharami" (story of my love), "Albi Wa Mouftaho" (my heart and its key), "Gamil Gamal", "Wayak", "
Ya Zahratan Fi Khayali'" (يا زهرة في خيالي – "Flower of my imagination), "Bisat Ir Rih" (flying carpet), "Ya Gamil Ya Gamil", "Ya Habaybi Ya Ghaybeen", "Eish Anta", and "sa3a bi 2orb el habib" (an hour in company of the beloved).
Film career
Al-Atrash starred in 31 Egyptian musical films from 1941 to 1974. His last movie, ''Nagham Fi Hayati'' (نغم في حياتي, Songs in my life) was released after his death. All his films except the last two were black and white. They ranged from comedies to dramas, or a combination. He composed all the songs in his movies including the songs sung by other singers, and instrumentals (usually belly dance routines). His earlier films would include approximately ten songs, but overall the films would average about five songs each. Some of al-Atrash's well-known movies include ''Intisar al-Shabab'' (انتصار الشباب – ''The Triumph of Youth'', 1941), ''Yom Bila Ghad'', ''Ahd el-Hawa'', and ''Lahn al-Kholoud'' (لحن الخلود – "Eternal Tune", 1952), ''Resala min Imraa Maghoola'' (رسالة من امرأة مجهولة – ''A Letter from an Unknown Woman'', 1962) produced by
Salah Zulfikar Films owned by his close friend
Salah Zulfikar, actor and producer.
Personal life
he endured the death of his sister and fellow performer Asmahan. Farid found comfort in a relationship with the belly-dancer
Samia Gamal, for whom he was motivated to risk all he owned. In 1947 he produced and co-starred in a movie with Samia directed by
Henri Barakat
Henry Antoun Barakat ( ar, هنري أنطون بركات, 11 June 1914, Cairo – 27 May 1997, Cairo) was a well known Egyptian film director. He was born in Shubra to a Melkite Greek Catholic father of Syro-Lebanese descent, and a Syro-Leb ...
; ''Habib al-'Oumr'' ("The love of my life," 1947), which became a huge success. After this came ''Afrita Hanem'' ("Madame la diablesse," 1949). Five films later, the unmarried couple broke up. Farid continued to work with other film stars in numerous successful movies in which he always had the romantic lead role of a sad singer. He even repeatedly chose his character's name to be "Wahid," meaning lonely.
![Salah Zulfikar and Farid Al Atrash in a match](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Salah_Zulfikar_and_Farid_Al_Atrash_in_a_match.jpg)
Al-Atrash sacrificed getting married for his devotion to his art. In his films, the audience remembered his leading ladies and his beautiful songs more than the story lines.
Prior to the
1952 military coup d'état against
King Farouk I, al-Atrash became friends with Farouk's consort,
Queen Nariman, a relationship that continued after the Queen's divorce and the coup that cost Farouk his throne. The former queen's family did not accept al-Atrash, and the separation from Nariman sent the singer into a long depression, the start of health problems that worsened from that point on until his death.
As al-Atrash became older, he reconsidered his opinion of marriage and proposed to Egyptian singer named
Shadia
Fatma Ahmed Kamal Shaker ( ar, فاطمة أحمد كمال شاكر; 8 February 193128 November 2017), better known by her stage name Shadia ( ar, شادية, ''Shādiyya''), was an Egyptian actress and singer. She was famous for her roles in l ...
, but at the last minute he backed out. By now his health was poor, and he feared that he would leave her a young widow. He often played out that scenario and sang about it in his romance movies. He was also engaged to marry Salwa al-Qudsi at the end of his life.
Others stated: "He remained a bachelor throughout his life" but he possibly had a brief 'urfi marriage. and another Moroccan-born singer Maya Casabianca called him the "love of her life" (though they didn't marry). He characterized himself in a fairly idealized version of a modern artist. "Tales of his love affairs were wildly popular during his lifetime and were seemingly merged with the lyrics of his love songs." (Zuhur in Ouzgane 2003)
Death
Al-Atrash, suffered from heart problems throughout his last 30 years. In the last few years of his life, he became physically thinner, and his singing voice became raspy as he is intensified. Although he was struggling with his health, he continued to produce movies and perform in concerts until he died.
On December 24, 1974 the doctors told al-Atrash that after two days he could go home. This was because they noticed that Farid did not like the hospital, or the drugs and the food that the hospital provided for him. On December 26, 1974, al-Atrash died in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
at Al Hayek hospital, shortly after arriving from London. Al-Atrash is buried in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
alongside his sister and brother.
Legacy
He composed songs for top Arab singers, foremost his own sister,
Asmahan
Amal al-Atrash ( ar, آمال الأطرش ', North Levantine ; November 25, 1918 – July 14, 1944), , as well as
Wadih El-Safi, Shadia,
Warda, and
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
. He is widely considered to be one of the four 'greats' of
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
and
Arabic music
Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...
, along with
Abdel Halim Hafez,
Mohammed Abdel Wahab and
Oum Kalthoum. Notable Egyptian instrumental guitarist
Omar Khorshid
Omar Khorshid ( ar, عمر خورشيد; April 9, 1945 – May 29, 1981) was an Egyptian guitarist, musician, composer, accompanist and actor. Born in Cairo, he was a well-known guitarist who accompanied many singers, including Farid Al Atrash, ...
covered Farid al-Atrash's songs in a tribute album.
His musical pieces was produced by Voice of Lebanon label which was founded by Robert Khayatt. the entire catalogue was acquired by
Mazzika
Mazzika Group ( ar, مزيكا, lit=Music) is a Vertical integration, vertically integrated entertainment company founded in Egypt, focused on repackaging and distribution of Arabic content to Arabic-speaking communities and audiences interested ...
Group in the early 2000s.
On October 19, 2020,
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
celebrated his 110th birthday with a
Google Doodle.
Filmography
* ''Entesar el chabab'' (1941)
* ''Ahlam el chabab'' (1943)
* ''Shahr el asal'' (1946)
* ''Ma akdarshi'' (1946)
* ''Gamal wa Dalal'' (1946)
* ''Bolbol effendi'' (1946)
* ''Habib al omr'' (1947)
* ''Ahebbak inta'' (1949)
* ''
Afrita hanem
Afrita hanem ( ar, عفريتة هانم, English: ''Little Miss Devil'') is a 1949 Egyptian film about Asfour, a poor singer, played by Syrian musician Farid Al Atrache, who falls in love with Aleya, the somewhat spoiled daughter of his boss.
Pl ...
'' (1949)
* ''Akher kedba'' (1950)
* ''Taa la salim'' (1951)
* ''Ma takulshi la hada'' (1952)
* ''Lahn al khouloud'' (1952)
* ''Ayza atgawwez'' (1952)
* ''Lahn hubi'' (1954)
* ''Risalat Gharam'' (1954)
* ''Ahdil Hawa'' (1955)
* ''Oussit Hobi'' (1955)
* ''Izhay ansak'' (1956)
* ''Wadda'tu hubbak'' (1957)
* ''Inta habibi'' (1957)
* ''Maleesh Gheirak'' (1958)
* ''Min agl Hobbi'' (1960)
* ''Shatie el hub'' (1961)
* ''Yomun bala ghaden'' (1962)
* ''Ressalah min emraa maghoula'' (1963)
* ''Hikayet el omr kulluh'' (1965)
* ''Khouroug min el guana, El'' (1967)
* ''Hob al kabir, -Al'' (1969)
* ''Zaman Ya Hob'' (1973)
* ''Nagham fi Hayati'' (1974) (added by:)
Mohammed Farouk Toualbia
References
Further reading
*
Zuhur, Sherifa (2001). Musical Stardom and Male Romance: Farid al-Atrash. In Zuhur, S. ed. Colors of Enchantment: Theater Dance, Music and the Visual Arts of the Middle East. Cairo and New York: American University in Cairo Press.
* Zuhur, Sherifa, (2003)
"Building a Man on Stage. Masculinity, Romance, and Performance according to Farid al-Atrash" ''
Men and Masculinities'', January 2003, vol. 5 no. 3 275-294,
* Asmar, Sami (1998). Remembering Farid A-Atrash: A Contender in the Age of Giants. 4(22), Retrieved fro
* Andrio, R. (n.d.). Biography for Farid Al Attrache. Retrieved fro
Farid El-Atrash* Zuhur, Sherifa in Ouzgane, Lahoucine, editor (January 2003). Islamic Masculinities. Retrieved fro
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atrash, Farid al
1917 births
1974 deaths
Egyptian Druze
Syrian Druze
Egyptian composers
Egyptian male film actors
20th-century Egyptian male singers
Naturalized citizens of Egypt
Singers who perform in Egyptian Arabic
People from as-Suwayda
Syrian emigrants to Egypt
Syrian male film actors
Syrian people of Lebanese descent
20th-century Syrian male singers
20th-century Syrian male actors
20th-century composers
Farid
Farid (Arabic: فَرِيد ''fariyd'', ''farīd''), also spelt Fareed or Ferid and accented Férid, is an Arabic and Persian masculine personal name or surname meaning "unique, singular ("the One"), incomparable". For many communities, including i ...
20th-century Egyptian male actors
Egyptian oud players