The voice of Egypt

Description:

Umm Kulthum, the "voice of Egypt," was the most celebrated musical performer of the century in the Arab world. More than twenty years after her death, her devoted audience, drawn from all strata of Arab society, still numbers in the millions. Thanks to her skillful and pioneering use of mass media, her songs still permeate the international airwaves. In the first English-language biography of Umm Kulthum, Virginia Danielson chronicles the life of a major musical figure and the confluence of artistry, society, and creativity that characterized her remarkable career. She examines the careful construction of Umm Kulthum's phenomenal popularity and success in a society that discouraged women from public performance. From childhood, her mentors honed her exceptional abilities to accord with Arab and Muslim practice, and as her stature grew, she remained attentive to her audience and the public reception of her work. Ultimately, she created from local precendents and traditions her own unique idiom and developed original song styles from both populist and neo-classical inspirations. These were enthusiastically received, heralded as crowning examples of a new, yet authentically Arab-Egyptian, culture. Danielson shows how Umm Kulthum's music and public personality helped form popular culture and contributed to the broader artistic, societal, and political forces that surrounded her. -- Amazon.com.

subjects: Arabic Songs,  Biography,  Egypt,  History and criticism,  Music,  Popular music,  Singers,  Social aspects,  Social aspects of Music,  Songs, Arabic,  Umm Kulthum, 1898-1975.,  Music -- Social aspects -- Egypt.,  Popular music -- Egypt -- History and criticism.,  Singers -- Egypt -- Biography.,  Songs, Arabic -- Egypt -- History and criticism.,  Singers, biography,  Songs, history and criticism,  Popular music, history and criticism,  Music, social aspects,  Egypt, biography,  Women, egypt,  Umm kulthūm , 1898-1975,  Women singers,  Women singers--egypt--biography,  Songs, arabic--history and criticism,  Songs, arabic--egypt--history and criticism,  Popular music--history and criticism,  Popular music--egypt--history and criticism,  Music--social aspects,  Music--social aspects--egypt,  Singers--biography,  Singers--egypt--biography,  Ml420.u46 d36 1997,  782.42163/092 b,  Zangers,  Liederen,  Arabisch

People: Umm Kulthum, 1898-1975,  Umm Kulthūm (1898-1975)

Places: Egypt