Farid al-Atrash
Farid el Atrache (Arabic فريد الأطرش, DMG Farid al - atras, also al - Atrash and al - Atrash, * October 19, 1915 in al - Suwayda, Syria; † December 26, 1974 in Beirut, Lebanon ) was a Syrian - Egyptian composer, singer and actor. He was beside Oum Kalsoum, Fairuz, Abdel Halim Hafez Abdel Wahab Mohammed and one of the largest representatives of Arab music from the 20th century.
Different spellings of the name
The notation most commonly used is probably Farid el Atrache. So you can find this form on most vinyl records and CDs. Beyond that you will always find slightly different forms such as: Farid El Atrache, Farid Al Atrash, Farid El Atrash, Fareed Al Atrache, Fareed Al Atrash, Farid Al Atrash Attrach or Fareed EL.
Biography
Farid comes from the famous Druze family "el Atrache ". His father was Fahd el Atrache, head of the Lebanese criminal court of alcoholism fell later. Until 1918, when the Ottoman Empire collapsed, he was a high official in the Turkish district of Demirci. His mother Aleya Menzer ( ʿ al - Mundhir Ulaya ʾ Husain ) was born into a Lebanese Druze family. She was an excellent oud player and singer. Since the father cared little about the family, the primary responsibility lay with the mother. His sister Amal al - atras ( born November 18, 1918 † July 14, 1944 ) under the name Asmahan in the Arab world, while only a few years famous as a singer and actress. His brother Fouad joined artistically in appearance. Two other siblings, a girl and a boy who died quite young.
Around 1920 the family left that got in trouble for participating in battles against the French occupiers, their Syrian homeland. They found refuge in Egypt, where they soon got the local citizenship. His mother was able to inspire the music for him and his sister Amal. Even at school he became a singer at school festivals in appearance. He later studied at a music conservatory in Riyadh as- Sunbati, a famous composer of his time. In the 1930s, he initially joined as an oud player and later as a singer in private broadcasting studios in appearance. Soon after, he was hired by the National Broadcasting in Cairo. As a composer, he began to make a name for himself. He joined since 1931 very often performs with his sister Asmahan. In the early 1940s they also made two movies together. One of them was " Intisar al - Chabab (Victory of Youth) ". When his sister on July 14, 1944 in a car accident with her car plunged into the river and drowned, he fell into a deep depression. Contributed to this were the emerging rumors, Asmahan, had been due to possible espionage, killed; Allegations, but which could never be substantiated.
Very early Farid got the nickname " The sad singer " because many of his songs were about a lost love. But he also sang other, mostly romantic sometimes patriotic and religious songs, but always with an extraordinary empathy that his audience is always pulled into the spell. One need not be Arabs, to succumb to the fascination of this voice. A voice over the years changed greatly. In the thirties he had a high tenor voice, but deepened with the years. The style of his music was almost always in Arabic, but also subject to Western influences. His famous song " Ya Zahratan " ( A flower in my imagination ), which was among others sung by Fairuz, is a brisk tango. Up to the present time he is considered the best oud players in the world. This could be stated in many of his songs, in which he often played a long solo at the beginning, such as in " Iich Inta " ( farewell ), " Awal Hamsa " ( first whisper ) or " Addi Errabii " ( It's spring again ).
Farid, who led a reckless life in his younger years, which earned him more often gambling debts and that led him to the edge of existence, yet continued his career with ever greater success. He turned more feature films, where he not only played the lead role, but also composed all the songs, including those of other contributors. There were comedies and dramas including. A few years ago the TV channel Arte showed the comedy " Lady Devil " with German subtitles. In this musical comedy, he played along with the famous belly dancer Samia Gamal. The two have since 1947 occurred in a total of five films on together in front of the camera and were also privately lovers. Married but they had not. Farid was probably the view that a marriage and artistic collaboration would not be very well tolerated. In 1952, the couple separated. Samia married an American and went with him to the United States.
In the same year King Farouk was overthrown by the military on 23 July in Egypt. He went with his wife Farida into Italian exile. Farida divorced there by her husband and went back to Egypt and began a relationship with Farid. This connection did not end in a marriage. Farida's family was probably mainly for political reasons against this connection. This separation probably sparked from health problems with the heart. His career did not detract still. He sang, composed and turned more successful films. Again and again he fell in love with his partners and went short a relationship with them. This unsettled life brought him in earlier years of trouble with his mother, which then separated even from her son.
With age, you saw him to his worsening heart disease. He lost weight and his face was drawn by the deteriorating health. Still, it seemed that he would get married again. It was the young Egyptian singer Shadia, which would have to be his wife. But shortly before the marriage, he backed down. He said as a justification for this step, he did not want to make her a widow. But people who knew him well, said that the real reason is to be sought in the fact that no woman would have been able to fill the spiritual void that had left his sister Asmahan. In his later years he moved to Lebanon. From there he went on further tours to Egypt and several European countries.
Only 59 years old, Farid died on December 26, 1974 at Al Hayek hospital in Beirut at the consequences of his heart condition. He was buried in Cairo in a cemetery next to his sister Asmahan and his brother.
Even over 30 years after his death, he is unforgettable. His music, he composed about 350 songs, is played a lot today and its about 30 films will be shown again and again in the television programs. Belly dancers dance to his music. From its present colleagues, he is still referred to as the "King of the Oud ". His unique voice and his often sad songs have remained unmatched.
Museum
In September 2006, 62 years after the death of Asmahan the Syrian Ministry of Tourism has agreed that their home in the former French part of as- Suwayda can be converted into a museum of the siblings Asmahan and Farid. Before there was the building, as well as large parts of the district in the possession of the Syrian army.