Mohamed el-Qasabgi ( ar, محمد القصبجي; pronounced in local Egyptian dialect as Mohamed el-Asabgi; 1892 – 25 March 1966) was an Egyptian musician and composer, and is regarded as one of the five leading composers of Egypt in the 20th century. Most of his credits went to

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...

Asmahan Amal al-Atrash ( ar, آمال الأطرش ', North Levantine ; November 25, 1918 – July 14, 1944),

, and Layla Murad who sang most of his great works and scores. Until today, most critics classify Mohamed El Qasabgi as the master of the

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due to his great abilities and skills which he had during his time. In most of his tunes, there is a real sensation of the pure

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

spirit, mixed with

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an musical techniques and taste. This was mostly seen in songs like Ya Toyour, Raa' El Habeeb, Ana Albi Daleeli. In the above mentioned songs and many others, he was widely recognized by most musicians and critics at that time as the leader of development of Oriental music, and mixing it with newest musical techniques and influences brought in from Western classical traditions of his time.

Important dates

* 1892 Birth of El Qasabgi. * 1917 Actual journey begins. * 1920 Mohamed El Qasabgi composes songs for great singers of that time, including the legendary

Mounira El Mahdeya Monirah El-Mahdiyyah (born Zakiyyah Hesin Mansur, ar, منيرة المهدية) was an Egyptian singer born in 1885 (she is said to have come from Zagazig, but other sources say Alexandria); she died in 1965. The singer, better known under the n ...

. * 1920 through 1923 The legendary

Mohammed Abdel Wahab ''Mohamed Abdel Wahab'' ( ar, محمد عبد الوهاب), also transliteration, transliterated ''Mohamed Abd El-Wahhab'' (March 13, 1902 – May 4, 1991), was a prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer, actor, and composer. He is best known fo ...

learns the lute at the hands of Qasabgi. * 1924

sings his music for the first time. In the same year, he forms his own Oriental musical band which included great musicians. * 1927 Mohamed El Qasabgi composes the monolog ''In Kuntu Asamih'' performed by Umm Kulthum. This song creates a revolution in the taste of Oriental music. * 1933

Asmahan Amal al-Atrash ( ar, آمال الأطرش ', North Levantine ; November 25, 1918 – July 14, 1944),

sings his music for the first time. * 1930s Mohamed El Qasabgi is

's favorite composer. * 1941 He composes for

what most critics recognise as his all time great piece under the name of ''Raa' El Habeeb''. * 1942 He composes the first real Egyptian opera, and is assisted by Riyadh El Sonbati, another great legend. * 1948 He composes the last song for Umm Kulthum, after which he nearly quits composing until the year of his death, yet stays a leading figure in the music band of all Umm Kulthum's nights and songs until his death in 1966. * 1960 Wins the Science and Art Distinction by then Egyptian president

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

Notable works

Actually the following works which were composed by Mohamed El Qasabgi are considered to be essential classics, and must have musical masterpieces where he kept the sense of pure Oriental music with the newest foreign Western musical techniques. With these songs and many others, he is recognized by most of his fellow musicians, including

Zakariyya Ahmad Zakariyya Ahmad ( ar, زكريا أحمد; born 1896 in Faiyum, Egypt –1961) was an Egyptian musician and composer. He mainly sang religious songs as a member of several groups from 1919 to 1929, having studied recitation of the Qur'an u ...

, and

, as being the master of the new music spirit. And below is a list of some of his famous works * In Kuntu Asamih 1927 * Enti Fakrani 1931 * Leih Telawe'eni 1932 * Ayyuhal Fulk (Oh Ship...) 1934 * Fein El Oyoun 1934 * Songs of 'Widad' movie 1935 * Songs of 'Nasheed El Amal' movie 1937 * Madam Teheb 1940 * Asqiniha 1940 * Ya Tuyoor 1941 * Raa' El Habeeb 1941 * Opera Aida - Composed by Mohamed El Qasabji and Riyadh El Sonbati 1942 * Hal Tayyam Al Ban 1942 * Emta Ha Te'raf 1944 * Ana Elli Astahel 1944 * Ana Albi Daleeli 1948

References

External links

* http://www.athaqafia.com * https://web.archive.org/web/20070113090051/http://www.yabeyrouth.com/pages/index869.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20051202072618/http://arab-music.tripod.com/id15.html * http://www.sis.gov.eg/Ar/Arts&Culture/musicsinging/famoussingers/070602000000000009.htm * http://www.asharqalawsat.com/details.asp?section=25&issue=10293&article=404477 {{DEFAULTSORT:Qasabgi, Mohamed 1892 births 1966 deaths Egyptian composers Egyptian oud players 20th-century composers