In many cultures, women are the unseen population. They are living within a patriarchic society where women are there for the benefit of men. Egypt is one such country within that scope, although it is starting to become a more progressive country. Egypt has a high population of Muslim people, and in an environment such as that, women tend to be overlooked. One woman not only pushed the boundaries of her country and her faith, but she also did it for the women of her country as well as for all Muslim people. That woman’s name was Umm Kulthum, and she is now known by many people as the ‘Voice of Egypt‘, or the ‘Nightingale of the Nile‘.
Changing Family Traditions
Born to an impoverished family in El Mansura, Egypt, Umm Kulthum was expected to enter an arranged marriage when she became of age, and raise a family of her own under Muslim traditions. That all changed while Umm Kulthum was growing up watching her father teach her older brother religious music. Her father was a singer and official for a neighborhood mosque. He would perform sacred associated music for weddings and festivals around the area where they were living in Egypt. Her strong voice made it possible for her to join in on her father’s family ensemble, where she would sing pieces normally written and performed by men. Umm Kulthum did this undetected for a while by dressing as a boy to avoid bringing disgrace to her father for making his daughter a stage performer. This was something that wasn’t for women, but her talent and determination was undisturbed by this fact.
Becoming the Nightingale of the Nile
The year was 1923, and Umm Kulthum decided to pursue a music career where she eventually moved to Cairo. If she wanted to succeed in the city, she realized she had to restructure her image: by using the modest fashions of the wealthy Muslim ladies of the city, add popular songs and Arabic poetry, as well as her own music ensemble. One year later, in 1924 to 1925, Umm Kulthum saw her first success within the recording studio. At that time, record players started to be accessible to the public domain, such as in coffee houses and restaurants. Due to her contracts and recordings with the Gramophone Company and Odeon, her exposure to audiences beyond the concert halls began to grow. By the end of the 1920’s, Umm Kulthum was one of the most successful artists in Cairo. In the early 1930’s Umm Kulthum began using radio to reach her audiences, where her presence was growing. By the late 1930’s she arranged for her Thursday night concerts to be broadcasted over the radio from late in the year, around October or November, to June. This radio program remained her constant project until her final illness and retirement in 1973. During her career, she preformed with many famous composers of her day, and sung over 300 hundred songs, some of which were written for her. After her retirement, she lived in Cairo until her death, in 1975.
In her life, Umm Kulthum sung with a voice that had a wide range and power. She learned to manipulate her voice in elegant and imaginative ways, enhancing the Arabic art of poetry that is sung. She was a diva for her country, and her music and sung poetry was recognized by many people in the Muslim world. Umm Kulthum lived in a world where women were not normally in the spotlight, but with dignity and respect she was able to make a life for herself to so wide an audience for many decades. In doing so, even today, she is known as the music personality of Egypt. She is still simply known and remembered as The Lady, or the Nightingale of the Nile.
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Sources
Goldman, Michael, producer & Barbara Holecek, co-producer. (2006). “Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt.” Arab Film Distribution. DVD.
Rodenbeck, Max. (2000). Cairo: The City Victorious. New York, New York: Random House, Inc.
Sadie, Stanley, ed. & John Tyrrell, executive ed. (2002) The New Grove: Dictionary of Music and Musicians (second edition) Volume 29. New York, New York: Groves Dictionaries Inc.
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