Son of the “Nayati” (Nay player) who was a member of Abdo al-Hamuli and Muhamad Othman’s Takht, Muhamad Abdo Saleh was sent by his father at a young age to …
Feb 1940 Read More →Ṣalībā al-Qaṭrīb
Saliba el Katrib is a genius and unique oud player and an established singer. He was born in 1904 in a musical family as his father Mikhael Qatrib was a recognized …
Jan 1940 Read More →Zakariyyā Aḥmad (1896-1961)
He left a huge number of compositions, lyrical theater works and movie songs. He deserves all the credit for the discovery of several important artists and he accompanied Umm Kulthum’s …
Jan 1930 Read More →Umm Kulthūm (1904 – 1975)
No need here to retell in detail the life story of Um Kalthum. Who indeed does not know those details, from birth, upbringing, discovery of voice, to her move from …
Jan 1930 Read More →Ṣāliḥ ‘Abd al-Ḥayy (Ṣāliḥ ‘Abd al-Jawwād Khalīl) (1896-1962)
Born in Cairo to a family of musicians (his uncle was ̕Abd al-Hay Hilmî), he was trained with the Sahbageyya groups and then with the Muhammad ̕ Umar and ̕Ali …
Jan 1930 Read More →Fatḥiyya Aḥmad (1898-1975)
A talented young singer with a quiet personality, Fathiyya Ahmad began her career in musical theaters as a young girl in about 1910. She appeared with the well known theater …
Jan 1930 Read More →Zakī Murād (1880-1946)
A descendant of a Jewish family, possibly of Moroccan origin, Zaki Murâd began his life as a tissue merchant in Alexandria. He enrolled at the Arab Music Conservatory in 1907 …
Jan 1920 Read More →Sāmī al-Shawwā (1889 – 1965)
Sami Shawwa was born in Cairo, to an Orthodox family from Aleppo, who formed a musical legacy. His great grandfather Joseph was a violinist at the beginning of the eighteenth …
Jan 1920 Read More →Munīra al-Mahdiyya (Zakiyya Ḥusayn Manṣūr) (1884-1965)
Munîra al-Mahdiyya was a legendary name in Egypt. In spite of her fame, we know little about the life of the “Sultânat al-tarab”. Probably born in Zaqâzîq, Zakiyya Mansûr Gânim …
Jan 1920 Read More →Sheikh Amīn Ḥasanayn Sālim
His father is Sheikh Hassaneyn Salem, an Al-Azhar graduate, and one of the “Qiraa’aat” teachers in Egypt. Sheikh Amin Hussaneyn Salem followed the Azhari school in turn, and it showed in …
Jan 1920 Read More →