Sultana Daoud (also known as Reinette l'Oranaise; 1918 in

Tiaret Tiaret ( ar, تاهرت / تيارت; Berber: Tahert or Tihert, i.e. "Lioness") is a major city in northwestern Algeria that gives its name to the wider farming region of Tiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital ...

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

– 17 November 1998, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

) was an Algerian Jewish singer, who helped preserve Arab-Andalus music, as well as introducing the genre to European audiences.

Early life

She was born in

, the daughter of a Moroccan Rabbi. Being blind as a result of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

when two years old, she studied at a school for the blind in Algiers, until her mother encouraged her to take up music. She studied with Saoud l'Oranais, who gave her the nickname ''Reinette l'Oranaise'' ("Queenie from Oran"). From him she learned to play several instruments, and learned a great many traditional songs in the Arab-Andalus and

Raï Raï (, ; ar, راي, Latn, ar, rāʾy, ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called ''cheb'' (Arabic: شاب) (or ''shabab,'' i.e. young) as opposed to ''sheikh'' (Ara ...

styles. They moved to

in 1938, but at his suggestion she soon returned to Algeria. There she joined the orchestra of Meriem Fekkaï, until Algerian independence ended her career - she had been opposed to independence. Unable to find work in her home country, she returned to France, playing in restaurants and private parties for the

Maghrebi Jewish :''See Mashriqi Jews for more information about Jews in the rest of North Africa and Western Asia.'' Maghrebi Jews ( or , ''Maghrebim'') or North African Jews ( ''Yehudei Tzfon Africa'') are ethnic Jews who had traditionally lived in the Maghr ...

community in Paris. In the 1980s the increased interest in " World Music" brought her to the media's attention, and she was once again able to perform to large audiences. She sang in Arabic and ladino and was a highly respected chaabi performer, performing with even Cheik El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka, who made over 130 lps. She was very loved by Oran's Muslim population and left a rich chaabi legacy.

Discography

* ''Jewish Arab Song Treasures'' (2006) (AKA ''Trésors de la Chanson Judéo-Arabe'') * ''Mémoires'' (2001) * ''I wish I was Egyptian '' (2000) Her recording of the song "Qum Tara" was used in the film ''A la Place du Coeur'' (1998)Reinette L'Oranaise
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References

External links

Obituary in ''The Independent'' (London)
1918 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Algerian women singers Blind musicians Jewish singers People from Tiaret Algerian Jews Migrants from French Algeria to France Judaeo-Spanish-language singers {{Arabic-music-stub