Farid el atrache asmahan biography

Syrian-singer (1912-1944)

Musical artist

Amal al-Atrash (Arabic: آمال الأطرشĀmāl al-Aṭrash, North LevantineArabic pronunciation:[(ʔ)æːmæːllˈ(ʔ)ætˤrɑʃ]; November 25, 1912 – July 14, 1944), better known by her stage name Asmahan (أسمهان, Arabic pronunciation:[ʔasmahaːn]Asmahān), was a Syrian Egyptian singer.

Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of three years old from Syria, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad. She also sang the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Her voice was one of the few female voices in Arab music world to pose serious competition to that of Umm Kulthum, who is considered to be one of the Arab world's most distinguished singers of the 20th century. Her mysterious death in an automobile accident shocked the public. Journalists spread gossip about her turbulent personal life and an alleged espionage role in World War II.

Early life

Asmahan was born to Fahd al-Atrash, a SyrianDruze from Suwayda, and 'Alia al-Mundhir, a Lebanese Druze from Hasbaya. Her father came from the Druze al-Atrash clan, well known in Syria for its role in fighting against the French occupation.

Asmahan's father supposedly served as governor of the district of Demirci in Turkey, during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, when he fled the country with his children and pregnant wife. On 25 November 1912, they embarked on a ship from İzmir to Beirut, and Asmahan was born on board. She was named "Amal", meaning "hope". She was also called "Emily", but always preferred the name "Amal". After the French came into power, the family returned to Jabal al-Druze.

Following the Adham Khanjar incident in 1922, the al-Atrash home in al-Qrayya (a town in Jabal al-Druze) was bom

Farid El Atrache (1915-1974) (Arabic: فريد الأطرش) was a Syrian-born Egyptian composer, singer, actor, and oud virtuoso. Farid was born to Syrian Druze nobility, the Atrache family, who led the Druze fight against both the Ottomans and the French Mandate in modern-day Syria and Lebanon. He is one of the most important names of twentieth century Arab music. His sister Asmahan was also a skilled singer, though her career was cut tragically short by a controversial car accident.

Early life

Farid was born in Syria to a Druze princely family who fought the French Colonial armies. In the mid 1920s he moved with his family to Egypt escaping the French occupation, later on they were naturalized by the Egyptian government. Farid’s mother sang and played the oud, which spurred his musical interest at an early age.

As a child and young adult, Farid sang in school events. He studied in a music conservatory and became an apprentice of the renowned composer Riyad as-Sunbaty. In the 1930’s, Farid 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, was also a talented singer, and for a while they worked together. In 1941, they starred in their first successful movie, in which Farid himself composed all the music.

Musical career

Farid had a long and colorful music career lasting four decades. He composed musically diverse songs, and was a highly regarded composer, singer and instrumentalist. Farid 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.

Some of the most famous songs include "Rabeeh", "Awal Hamsa", "Hekayat Gharami", "Albi Wa Moftaho", "Gamil Gamal", "Wayak"

Syrian-Egyptian singer, composer and musician (1910–1974)

Musical artist

Farid al-Atrash (Arabic: فريد الأطرش; October 19, 1910 – December 26, 1974), also spelled Farid El-Atrache, was a Syrian-Egyptian singer, oudist, composer, and actor. Although born in Syria, he immigrated to Egypt at the age of nine with his mother and siblings, where he eventually became one of the most noted figures in 20th-century Arabic music.

Al-Atrash embarked on a highly successful career spanning more than four decades, recording 500 songs and starring in 31 movies. He is also widely regarded for his virtuosity on the Arabic oud, and has sometimes been given the epithet "King of the Oud" ("Malek al-Oud").

Early life

Al-Atrash was born in 1910, in Al-Qurayya, in southern Syria to the Druze 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, 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 1

Remembering Farid al-Atrash
By Sami Asmar (Published with his permission) – Reference website: Turath.org

The leading family that spearheaded the rebellion against the French in Syria’s Druze Mountain after World War I was a family that produced two of the most renowned Arab artists of this century. Farid and his sister Amal, along with their brother Fou’ad, belonged to the religious minority clan of their parents, Princess Alia and Prince Fahd al-Atrash.

The Atrash children were raised under the watchful eyes of their parents, who moved frequently between the major cities of the Levant in their political struggle against the French. Princess Alia had lost two of her five children to disease at a young age and became highly concerned about the safety of the surviving ones. Her fears were compounded when Farid almost died in a drowning accident in Beirut while playing with another child on a small boat, provoking his mother to lock him indoors when he was not in school.

Due to the potential of French reprisal against his family, the Durze leader was compelled to send his family seeking refuge in Egypt. Leaving her husband and wealth behind, the princess disguised herself and her children by taking a fake family name. kusa, Arabic for zucchini, was the odd choice of names that brought Farid ridicule in the new school in Egypt, a French school, ironically, which waived the tuition of the “poor child.”

In the midst of this economically difficult life, Farid’s musical interest grew as he listened to his mother sing and play the oud [lute] at home. At his insistence, he was permitted to train with the school’s Christian choir. The instructor, however, was not impressed with Farid’s inability to express feelings, despite his nice voice, and advised him to cry so that the listeners would feel the pain expressed in the chants. As his fans know, this advice worked, and remained a theme that lasted through his career, and