Farid el Atrache

Farid el Atrache ( Arabic فريد الأطرش, DMG Farīd al-Aṭraš ; also al-Atrash and al-Atrash ; * October 19, 1915 in as-Suwaida , Syria ; † December 26, 1974 in Beirut , Lebanon ) was a Syrian - Egyptian composer , singer and actor . Along with Oum Kalsoum , Fairuz , Abdel Halim Hafez and Mohammed Abdel Wahab, he was one of the greatest exponents of Arabic music of the 20th century.

Different spellings of the name

The spelling Farid el Atrache can be read on most records and CDs. In addition, the slightly modified transcriptions Farid EL-Atrache, Farid Al Atrash, Farid EL Atrash, Fareed Al Atrache, Fareed Al Atrash, Farid Al Attrach or Fareed EL Atrash occur.

biography

Farid comes from the famous Druze family el Atrache. His father was Fahd el Atrache, head of the Lebanese criminal court, who later became addicted to alcoholism. Until 1918, when the Ottoman Empire fell apart, he was a high official in the Turkish district of Demirci . His mother Aleya Menzer (ʿUlayāʾ Ḥusain al-Munḏir) came from a Lebanese Druze family. She was an excellent oud player and singer. Since the father cared little about the family, the main responsibility lay with the mother. His sister Āmal al-Aṭraš (born November 18, 1918, † July 14, 1944) became famous in the Arab world under the name Asmahān for only a few years as a singer and actress. His brother Fouad did not appear artistically. Two other siblings, a girl and a boy, died very young.

Around 1920 the family, which was in distress because of their involvement in fighting against the French occupiers, left their Syrian homeland. They found refuge in Egypt , where they soon received citizenship there. His mother was able to inspire him and his sister Amal for music. Already in school he appeared as a singer at school parties. He later studied at a music conservatory with Riad as-Sunbati , a well-known composer of his time. In the 1930s he first appeared as an oud player and later as a singer in private radio studios. Soon after, he was hired by the national broadcaster in Cairo . He also began to make a name for himself as a composer. He appeared very often with his sister Asmahān since 1931. They also made two feature films together in the early 1940s. One of them was "Intisar al-khabab (Victory of the Youth)". When his sister fell into the Nile in a traffic accident in her car on July 14, 1944 and drowned, he fell into a deep depression. The rumors that had emerged that Asmahan had been killed for possible espionage activities contributed to this; Accusations that could never be substantiated.

Farid was nicknamed "The Sad Singer" at a very early age because many of his songs were about a lost love. But he also sang other, mostly romantic, sometimes patriotic and pious songs, but always with an extraordinary empathy that always cast a spell over his audience. You don't have to be an Arab to succumb to the fascination of this voice. A voice that has changed a lot over the years. He had a high tenor voice in the 1930s, but it deepened over the years. The style of his music was almost always Arabic, but was also subject to Western influences. His famous song "Ya Zahratan" (A flower in my imagination), which & a. Also sung by Fairuz is a brisk tango. To this day he is considered the best oud player in the world. This can be seen in many of his songs, in which he often played a longer solo at the beginning, such as in "Iich Inta" (goodbye), "Awal Hamsa" (first murmur) or "Addi Errabii" (It's spring again ).

Farid, who led a reckless life in his younger years, which often brought him gambling debts that led him to the edge of existence, nevertheless continued his career with ever greater success. He made other feature films in which he not only played the main role, but also composed all the songs, including those of the other contributors. There were comedies and dramas among them. A few years ago, the TV station Arte showed the comedy "Dame Teufelin" with German subtitles. In this musical comedy film, he played with the famous belly dancer Samia Gamal . The two have appeared together in front of the camera in a total of five films since 1947 and also became lovers in private. But they had not married. Farid was probably of the opinion that marriage and artistic collaboration would not go very well. In 1952 the couple separated. Samia married an American and went to the USA with him .

In the same year, on July 23, King Faruq was overthrown by the military in Egypt . He went into exile in Italy with his wife Farida. Farida divorced her husband there and went back to Egypt and began a relationship with Farid. This connection did not end in marriage either. Farida's family was against this association mainly for political reasons. This separation probably also triggered health problems with the heart. Nevertheless, this did not affect his career. He sang, composed and made other successful films. Again and again he fell in love with his partners and entered into short relationships with them. This unsteady life brought him trouble with his mother in earlier years, who then separated from her son.

As he got older, you could tell his heart disease was getting worse. He lost weight and his face was marked by deteriorating health. Still, it seemed that he would get married again after all. It was the young Egyptian singer Shadia who should have been his wife. But shortly before the marriage he backed down. As a reason for this step, he said he did not want to make her a widow. But people who knew him very well said that the real reason was to be found in the fact that no woman was able to fill the emotional emptiness that his sister Asmahan had left behind. In his later years he moved to Lebanon. From there he went on tours to Egypt and various European countries.

Only 59 years old, Farid died on December 26, 1974 in Al-Hayek Hospital in Beirut of complications from his heart disease. He was buried in a cemetery in Cairo next to his sister Asmahan and his brother.

Even more than 30 years after his death, he will not be forgotten. His music, he composed about 350 songs, is still played a lot today and his 30 or so films are repeatedly shown on television programs. Belly dancers dance to his music. His colleagues today still refer to him as the "King of the Oud". His unique voice and his often sad songs have remained unmatched to this day.

museum

In September 2006, 62 years after Asmahan's death, the Syrian Ministry of Tourism agreed that their house in the former French part of as-Suwaida could be converted into a museum for the Asmahan and Farid siblings. Before that, the building, like large parts of the district, was owned by the Syrian army .

Filmography

• 1941: Intisar al-khabab (Victory of the Youth) (Wahid)
• 1943: Ahlam el chabab (dreams of youth)
• 1946: Shahr el asal (honeymoon)
• 1946: Ma akdarshi (I can't do that)
• 1946: Gamal wa Dalal (Gamal and Dalal) (Gamal)
• 1946: Bolbol effendi (Mr. Nightingale) (Bolbol - Nightingale)
• 1947: Habib al omr (The love of my life) (Mamdouh)
• 1949: Ahebbak inta (I only love you) (Munir)
• 1949: Dame Teufelin - OT: Afrita hanem (Asfour) Film ran in Germany
• 1950: Akher kedba (The Last Lie) (Samir)
• 1951: Taa la salim (Come and say hello) (Mishmish)
• 1952: Ma takulshi la hada (Don't tell anyone) (Wahid)
• 1952: Lahn Al khouloud (The Immortal Song) (Wahid)
• 1952: Ayza atgawwez (Farid)
• 1954: Lahn hubi (The song of my heart)
• 1956: Izhay ansak (How can I forget you) (Ahmed)
• 1957: Wadda'tu hubbak (Farewell, my love - Farewell to your love)
• 1957: Inta habibi (My only love)
• 1960: Min agl hubbi (Because of my love)
• 1961: Shatie el hub (The Shore of Love)
• 1962: Yomun bala ghaden (days without a future)
• 1963: Ressalah min emraa maghoula (Letters from an Unknown Woman) (Ahmed Sameh)
• 1965: Hikayet el omr kulluh (Story of a Whole Life) (As himself)
• 1967: El Khouroug min el guana (Imam)
• 1969: Al Hob al kabir (singer)

Web links

Commons : Farid al-Atrash  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Farid al-Atrash in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• www.farid-el-atrache.com
• Fareed al-At rash. Classical Arab Music