Wadih El Safi ( ar, وديع الصافي, born Wadih Francis; November 1, 1921 – October 11, 2013) was a Lebanese singer, songwriter, composer and actor. He was a Lebanese icon and the forefather of the country's musical culture. He was the longest singer in production, seventy-five years in the singing profession. He was the number one singer of his era. He was known amongst his peers to have incarnated and raised the ceiling of all the singing styles and music of that era and added his own intricate new styles and genres to the existing national musical and singing heritage. He is the reference to every new singer and the example to follow for generations to come. Born in Niha, Lebanon, Wadih El Safi started his artistic journey at the age of sixteen when he took part in a singing contest held by Lebanese Radio and was chosen the winner of all categories among 40 other competitors.
Style and Career
Wadih El Safi being a classically trained tenor is not a verified fact since none of his known works provide proof of classical singing techniques. He has been known for singing in the belting school class, and his
phonation
The term phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, ''phonation'' is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the defini ...
is a testimonial of this practice. This is further confirmed in what arguably is his most famous song "Lebnan Ya Ote'et Sama" ("لبنان يا قطعة سما" in Arabic, specifically Lebanese dialect) in which his voice shifts to the so-called
Falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
or more widely recognized today as the "Voce Piena Testa" or the full head register on the second transition "Secondo passagio" around "EB4" note above middle "C4" not overlapping "F4", meaning that his voice falls in the
Baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
categorization rather than a tenor precisely a lyric baritone which is often linked to these transition areas. El Safi has no record for singing the "B4" and "C5" tenors' famous "High C" which are the characteristic signature of a tenor's laryngeal mechanism (constriction of the pharynx ) even though many of his age did. He was a classically trained tenor. He gained national recognition when, at seventeen, he won a vocal competition sponsored by
Radio Lebanon
Radio Lebanon (better known by the official French term Radio Liban or ar, إذاعة لبنان, pronounced Iza'at Lubnan) is one of the pioneering and one of the oldest Arab radio stations.urban sound, and creating a new style of modernized Lebanese folk music.
In 1947, El Safi traveled to Brazil where he remained until 1950. El Safi toured the world, singing in many languages, including Arabic, French, Portuguese and Italian, accompanied by his son George.
Songs and recordings
Wadih El Safi has sung over 5000 songs. He is well-known for his mawawil (an improvised singing style) of ''
'Ataba
The ataaba ( ar, عتابا, meaning "plaint" or "dirge", also transliterated 'ataba) is a traditional Arabic musical form sung at weddings, festivals, and other occasions. Popular in the Middle East, it was originally a Bedouin genre, improvised ...
Abu el Zuluf
Abu or ABU may refer to:
Places
* Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan
* Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan
* Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria
* Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian universit ...
. He has performed and recorded with many well-known Lebanese musicians such as Fairouz, and Sabah.
Health problems and death
In 1990, Wadih El Safi underwent open-heart surgery with the support of the Syrian government. In 2012, he broke his leg and had to have surgery to mend the fracture. After the surgery, his health deteriorated rapidly. In 2013, he was admitted to hospital, suffering from pulmonary consolidation. On October 11, 2013, he fell ill at his son's home and was rushed to the
Bellevue Medical Center
Bellevue Medical Center ( ar, مستشفى ومركز بلفو الطبي , BMC) founded in July 2009, is a general hospital located in Mansourieh, Lebanon. It offers healthcare services in many specialties. The hospital has a capacity of 130 ...
On November 1, 2016, Google celebrated his 95th birthday with a Google Doodle.
Discography
As performer
*''Best of Wadi – Vol. 1'' (EMI, 1999)
*''Best of Wadi – Vol. 2''
*''Best of Wadi – Vol. 3''
*''Inta Omri'' (2000)
*''The Two Tenors:Wadi Al Safi Aad Sabah Fakhri'' (Ark 21, 2000)
*''Wadih El-Safi and José Fernandez'' (Elef Records)
*''Wetdallou Bkheir''
*''Rouh ya zaman al madi atfal qana''
*"W Kberna" Duet with Najwa Karam (2002)
*''Chante Le Liban''
*''Wadi El Safi / Legends Of The 20th Century''
*''Mersal El Hawa''
*''Mahrajan Al Anwar''
*''Youghani Loubnan''
*''Ajmal El Aghani''
As composer
*''Cantiques de l'Orient'' (Harmonia Mundi Fr., 1996)
*''Psaumes Pour Le 3ème Millénaire'' (Angel Records, 2002)
As sideman
*''Music of Arabia'', Hanaan and her ensemble. Request Records (New Rochelle, New York) SRLP 8083 (as Wadih El-Saffi on oud)