The more we study oriental dance, the more we realize there is a whole arena of people to learn about — dancers, singers, composers, choreographers, etc. — famous, talented artists who had an important impact on the development of oriental dance and music. One of the most famous
of the singers and composers is Farid el-Atrache (pronounced fAH-rEEd El AH’-trAHsh).
Farid as born in Syria approximately 1915 and moved with his family to Egypt when he was a child. Farid’s mother sang and played the oud, which spurred his musical interest at an early age. In school, Farid’s music instructor was unimpressed with Farid’s lack of emotional expression and advised Farid to cry so that the listeners would feel the pain expressed in the chants. This sad theme remained prevalent in his singing style, and eventually earned him the label "the sad singer."
As a child and young adult, Farid sang in school events. He studied in a music conservatory and became an apprentice of the renowned composer Riyad as-Sunbaty. In the 1930’s, Farid began his professional singing career by working for privately owned Egyptian radio stations. Eventually, he was hired as an oud player for the national radio station and later as a singer. His sister, Asmahan, was also a talented singer, and for a while they worked together. In 1941, they starred in their first successful movie, in which Farid himself composed all the music.
Quick success brought the young man a lifestyle of nightclubs, love affairs and gambling. Soon Farid was in debt and found himself abandoned by his disapproving mother. During this difficult period of his life, he also endured the death of Asmahan, an accident that suggested conspiracy. Farid found comfort in a relationship with the dancer Samia Gamal (another important name to learn!), for whom he was motivated to risk all he owned. In 1947, he produced and co-starred in a movie with Samia, and it became a huge success.
Five films later, the unmarried couple broke up. Farid continued to work with other film stars in numerous successful movies in which he always had the romantic lead role of a sad singer. He even repeatedly chose his character’s name to be "Wahid," meaning lonely.
Although he fell in love with most of his lovely co-stars, Farid refused to get married, claiming that marriage kills art. In his films, the audience remembered his leading ladies and Farid’s beautiful songs more than the story lines. His classics include "Ar-Rabi" (Spring), "Awell Hamsah" (First Whisper), "Tutah" and "Raqsitil Gamal" (two dance pieces). His lighter songs like "Nura Nura" and "Gamil Gamal" are still popular today.
One of his more interesting real-life love stories involved royalty. Just before the Egyptian revolution, Farid became friends with the king’s wife. The king was soon exiled and divorced his wife. She returned to Egypt to lead a stormy love affair with Farid. Her family did not accept Farid, partly due to political reasons. When they broke up, Farid fell into a long depression, and this started health problems that worsened from that point on until his death.
As Farid became older, he reconsidered his opinion of marriage and proposed to an Egyptian singer named Shadia, but at the last minute he backed out. By now his health was poor, and Farid feared that he would leave her a young widow. He often played out that scenario and sang about it in his romance movies. In 1974, Farid passed away in Beirut at an estimated age of 60.
Over his lifetime, Farid starred in 41 movies and composed approximately 75 songs specifically for films. There are at least 45 other songs that have been recorded. He also composed for such famous singers as Warda and Sabah.
Farid el-Atrache has left a legacy to Arabic music. He is considered by Arab musicians as the best oud player of his time. His songs are still popularly used in many belly dance routines today. His voice and sad singing style was so unique and popular that Farid is still one of the most imitated singers. Composers consider Farid a leader in his field. These days, the Arabic music world is overflowing with short songs that lack musical depth. Serious oriental dancers would do well to investigate the golden age of Arabic music from the 1940’s to 1970’s, when the music was rich with meaning and orchestration and the artists, like Farid el-Atrache, moved their audiences with emotion.
If you want to learn more about Farid el-Atrache on the Internet and get a listing of books about him, check out the web site: www.farid-el-atrache.com.
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©2000 Jasmin Jahal