He began his life as a Koran reciter and a munshid (singer of religious hymns) before switching to the secular learned repertoire in the early years of the twentieth century. …
Jan 1910 Read More →
Dāwūd Ḥusnī (1870- 1937)
Daoud Hosni Khodr had been working in a printing press binding books when he met Shaykh Mohammad Abdo, who listened to his singing and encouraged him. He learned to play the …
Jan 1910 Read More →
Ibrāhīm al-Qabbānī (1852-1927)
Along with Daoud Hosn, Ibrahim al Qabbani is seen as a disciple of Abdo al Hamuli qand Mohammed Othman as to musical compositions and Muwashahat. He was prolific in composing …
Aug 1902 Read More →
Ali Afandi ‘Abduh Salih
Born to a family of musicians, ‘Alī Afandī ‘Abduh Ṣāliḥ is the first player of Arabic nāy that we have heard recorded on a disc. He recorded within Odeon’s second …
Jul 1902 Read More →
Yūsuf al-Manyalāwī (1847-1911)
Yussef al Manialawi, was born to peasants of the Manyal al-Rawda island (now at the center of Cairo). He was trained from an early age in the dhikr of Laytiyya’s …
Jun 1902 Read More →
Sulaymān Abū Dāwūd
There is very little information to be found on this singer. The only document allowing his identification is a blurred photograph published in the book of Kamil al-Khulai. He sings …
May 1902 Read More →
Salāma Ḥigāzī (1852 – 1917)
Higazi was raised in Alexandria. He was trained in the cantilation of the Koran and dhikr (since his early years under the supervision of Kamil al Hariri, the head of …
Apr 1902 Read More →
‘Abd al-Ḥayy Ḥilmī (1857-1912)
Abd al-Hay Hilmî, a seductive dandy, was the spoiled child of Egyptian high society at the turn of the century. He was noted for his odd manners; he would leave …
Mar 1902 Read More →
Muḥammad ‘Uthmān (1855-1900)
Despite the popularity of Muhamad Othman’s Adwar and Muwashahat among singers and throughout generations to our day, and despite him being, along with Abdo al Hamuli, one of the two …
Feb 1902 Read More →
‘Abduh al-Ḥāmūlī
Abdo al Hamuli is considered to be, along with Muhamad Othman, one of the two pillars of modernization as to the music of the renaissance period that was also called …
Jan 1902 Read More →