Oum Kalthoum, Om Kolthom, Om Kalsoum, Omm Kalsoum, Omme Kolsoum, Oom Koolsum, Oum Kalthoum, Oum Kalthum, Oum Kalsoum, Oum Kaltsoum, Oum Kolthoum, Oum Koulsoum, Oum Kulthum, Oum Kulthume, Um Kalthoum,

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I just listened to some samples from El Sett/the Lady, and some of that stuff sounds pretty good to me. "Tab en-nasim Al Alil" is in a style that I like (judging from a brief sound-bite). Also, I see that the collection gathers work from later than what I was assuming. So I don't know what to say, though I would still recommend that people start with something like Roubaiyat el Khayam from 1949/50. I think it's actually harder to appreciate the straight studio recordings than the live recordings, because in the live recordings you get to hear her improvising on the songs she is singing, which is where much of her greatness lies, in my opinion.

Also, it really helps if you can see some live footage of her performances.

(I was disappointed when I finally heard some Amalia Rodriguez, incidentally. "World music diva" fite!)

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 14 August 2004 12:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I think her singing is paradoxically phallic, penetrant. Warning: I may be saying that partly to play to gay &/or post-structuralist readers of this thread.

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 14 August 2004 12:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Gender and half-assed nods to queer theory, etc. aside, I do experience much of this singing as penetrating, and in a pleasant way, so I think the metaphor of forceful and filling, but welcome, sexual penetration might actually be pretty good, even if sexual metaphors are overused in musical discussions (and even if I don't speak from experience). Her voice is thick and even drill-like at times, but again, in a pleasurable way.

(The complexities of what she does with her voice can't adequately be modeled by pelvic thrusting though.)

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 14 August 2004 13:06 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

I ordered a copy of Robaiayt el Khayam (among other things) to donate it to the library where I work. After checking on how the cataloging of the CD is progressing, I now discover that the CD inside was actually Sahran Lewahdi. That is also a great recording, however, a less ideal starting point, I think. (Also, something I can't listen to in just about any mood, the way I can listen to Robaiyat el Khayam.) I guess I will see if a distributor can send me a copy of Robaiyat, checking to see what disc is inside, before sending it. The Saudi recording industry needs to get its act together! While I am at it, I might as well donate Ana fe Entazark as well.

― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 15 September 2004 18:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I really like "Oum Transmissions." I wish I'd thought of that before. Maybe I should start a new thread under that title.

― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 15 September 2004 18:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I would like to listen to more Oum Kalthoum.

― Ian c=====8 (orion), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 19:26 (twenty-one years ago)

The Saudi recording industry needs to get its act together!

this is a very politically sensitive issue, R.S. america's dependency on saudi arabian music is something that out government needs to reevaluate. perhaps they can look into alernative sourcse of arabian music, or more efficiently utilize relatively untapped resources of arabian music in alaska or the texas panhandle.

― amateur!!st, Wednesday, 15 September 2004 19:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I would like to listen to more Oum Kalthoum.

That's the spirit.

amateurist, the whole idea of buying CDs made in a country whose official theology is anti-music (or something close to that) is baffling.

― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 15 September 2004 19:43 (twenty-one years ago)

i was just making a funny.

― amateur!!st, Wednesday, 15 September 2004 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

(funniness of funny not guaranteed)

― amateur!!st, Wednesday, 15 September 2004 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Mr. Monetizing Eyeballs, did you ever get my address in your e-mail?

(I don't mean to bug you, but my e-mail account is kind of unreliable, so there's a real chance you didn't.)

(Unfortunately, the post office has also been unreliable lately.)

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 21:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Rockist...can you send me you e-address too? i have something to ask you re Oum K that is not for here.

― gaz (gaz), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 21:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay. This address should work, except I forgot the password. :( I am going to have to write them down.

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 21:39 (twenty-one years ago)

so its fine to email you but you won't be able to read it???

― gaz (gaz), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 21:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Exactly.

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 22:19 (twenty-one years ago)

If I can't recover the password, I will e-mail you.

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 22:19 (twenty-one years ago)

RS, yes, I did get your address. It came through loud and clear. Unfortunately, the only thing possibly less reliable than your email account is my timeliness when it comes to burning CDs (just ask Julio...) But rest assured, I will get it out to you!

― Reed Moore (diamond), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 23:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I didn't get my September Harper's either.

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 23:29 (twenty-one years ago)

― Reed Moore (diamond), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 23:29 (twenty-one years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://www.strangechord.com/potd/umm.jpg

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 7 October 2004 21:43 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm listening again to Riad el-Sounbatti's own recording of his composition Roubaiyat el Khayam, which throws Oum Kalthoum's performance (which is hard for me to forget while listening to this song) into sharp contrast. Riad el-Sounbatti is a pleasant enough singer, but remembering what Oum Kalthoum does with certain lines he is singing practically makes me giddy. (Of course, I also remembmer some of the orchestra parts (notably the kanun at the very beginning) in this performance limited to oud and vocals.) But because el-Sounbatti's performance fails to compare to Oum Kalthoum's, it makes me appreciate him more as a composer for Oum Kalthoum.

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 23:37 (twenty-one years ago)

And Songlines is going to have a beginner's guide in their next issue. It better be good. It better be someone who knows at least as much as I do (not that I'm making myself available for hire).

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 23:41 (twenty-one years ago)

The live recording of "Hazihi Leylati" appears to be available on CD again! Awwww yeaaaaaah! I'll say more once I actually get it, but I've just ordered it. As I've mentioned above, this is my favorite among the Abdel Wahab songs she sang, and one of a handful of favorites in her late career output.

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 00:38 (twenty-one years ago)

If you can call that great sprawling Egyptian prog. opera of a song a "song."

(And I just got the contract ratification bonus check today. Wheeee! And I took some decongestant because I'm getting a sinus infection! Wheeeee!)

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 00:48 (twenty-one years ago)

(You know they kind of bribe you with bonus checks. "Well, we're taking this and this away from you, so you'll have less long term, but here's a few hundred bucks.")

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 00:49 (twenty-one years ago)

decongestant usually puts me to sleep!

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 03:21 (twenty-one years ago)

It's still just the studio version of Hazihi Leylati, so back it goes.

gaz, you can e-mail me at my new normal ILX e-mail address: [email protected]. I have even written down my password.

― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 27 October 2004 19:37 (twenty-one years ago)

It's very disappointing that the two best Oum Kalthoum recordings of Abdel Wahab songs do not appear to be available on CD.

― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 27 October 2004 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

btw, RS did ya get my e-mail?

― H (Heruy), Thursday, 28 October 2004 07:46 (twenty-one years ago)

No. You sent it to my current address? The other one is dead.

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 28 October 2004 12:05 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

I was looking through the NPR Curious Listener's Guide to World Music yesterday and they surprised me by recommending an Oum Kalthoum recording that is from the 30s rather than the 60s, and by Dawoud Hasni, rather than by Abdel Wahab, Baligh Hamdi, or Riad el-Sounbatti. As far as I know, I haven't heard this song.

I also saw yesterday that Women's Voices Across Musical Worlds has an article on the subject of this thread by Virginia Danielson, which looked like a really good compact introduction to Oum Kalthoum.

― RS LaRue (rockist_scientist), Friday, 31 December 2004 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

is that last title a book?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 31 December 2004 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, they are both books. I don't remember much about who else was in it.

― RS LaRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 1 January 2005 01:35 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

"Salo Qalbi": She can't even get the first line out completely because the audience is so happy to see her again that they drown her out with applause.

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 18:20 (twenty-one years ago)

The January/February issue of Songlines has an introduction to Oum Kalthoum. There's not enough meat to it for me to really find much to complain about. It still bugs me that Abdel Wahab is the composer mentioned as her close associate when they didn't start collaborating until the 60s and it was Riad el Sounbatti who was the real major compositional genius that contributed to making Oum Kalthoum's opus what it was. I wish there were more of an attempt in this to describe what she does as a singer, rather than repeating the legend about the legend around the legend.

Recommended recordings:

Why is Al Atlal so often the recommended CD? Why that as the only one-song CD they recommend? Why recommend the 5 volume EMI collection of early material? Why bypass the core of her greatest work: the late 30s through the early 60s?

I paid over ten dollars for this issue of Songlines, so I could complain about this?

(Songlines is really lightweight. Despite it's frequent mediocrity, I think The Beat's coverage of the "world music" that it covers, which probably wouldn't include Oum Kalthoum, is better.)

Geez, I think the Oum Kalthoum intro. that appeared in Global Rhythms was better than this (but that's by the same author who wrote that NPR guide mentioned above, and I get the impression that he's spent some time listening to Oum Kalthoum.

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Friday, 11 March 2005 02:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Songlines does earn points for the inset where they recommend the Asmahan Legends of the 20th Century CD.

Actually, Songlines is pretty good for reviews. It's the articles that are usually a let-down.

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Friday, 11 March 2005 22:36 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

Umm Kulthum has been a significant influence on a number of musicians, both in the Arab world and beyond. Among others, Jah Wobble has claimed her as a significant influence on his work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_Kulthum

Jah Wobble? He's worth mentioning in a capsule biography of Umm Kulthum? (Did Natacha Atlas write this?)

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Monday, 18 April 2005 13:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Umm Kulthum is undoubtedly the most famous and recognized person in the History of the Middle East.

http://www.lorenlarsen.com/joanna/ummbio.htm

I think Mohammed might just be a little better known.

She did not use musical scores, she simply sang a few simple lines over and over altering them as her heart saw fit.

She didn't read scores while performing, but her works were probably all pre-composed. The lines might have generally been fairly simple, but some of the lyrics were considered to be very challenging poetry.

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Monday, 18 April 2005 13:28 (twenty-one years ago)

two weeks pass...

http://iraqimusic.com/pictures/um%20kalthoum%20in%20iraq%201932.jpg

Oum Kalthoum in Iraq, 1932. (That's what the website said anyway.)

― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Thursday, 5 May 2005 20:43 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

http://www.sis.gov.eg/umm/images/hb2.jpg

Oum Kalthoum's villa.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 23 August 2005 23:29 (twenty years ago)

BOOM, the GLASSES.

― Ian John50n (orion), Wednesday, 24 August 2005 01:45 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

please ,
iwant to have the songs of this greatest artist in order to lesten to it.
I love oumkalthoum so much.

Thanks

― amina marref, Monday, 7 November 2005 16:05 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

I never even saw that message before.

"The greatest ever singer in the world"--Rabih Abou Khalil (quoted in Songlines, Jan/Feb 2006).

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 17 January 2006 19:29 (twenty years ago)

six months pass...

http://weblog.bezembinder.nl/166-180/chantavvedisian.jpg

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Friday, 28 July 2006 21:15 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

Nice clip from Al Atlal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtWvmD9A2RA

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 13 August 2006 02:39 (nineteen years ago)

thanks, r.s. i wonder if i could find some of the better material you recommend above on one of the bourgeoning mp3 blogs...

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 13 August 2006 03:22 (nineteen years ago)

I haven't been looking lately. Maybe we can arrange something?

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 13 August 2006 03:30 (nineteen years ago)

sure--email me and tell me if you're looking for anything!

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 13 August 2006 03:50 (nineteen years ago)

seven months pass...

I like Rachid Taha's comments in his recent "Invisible Jukebox" interview in The Wire. He immediately calls Nahj El Borda (I think it was) "psychedelic." I hear it that way too, but not everyone knows what I'm talking about when I say this or that Arabic thing sounds "psychedelic."

― Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 01:18 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

I had a dream that Oum Kalthoum was still alive and that she sang at some sort of ceremony dedicating a religious site (also somehow connected to my job in the dream). She was singing together with some other people, including one of my co-workers. Somehow I wasn't involved and didn't get to meet her, but I told someone in the dream that Oum Kalthoum's career had started in 1910 (not necessarily true, but I don't remember off-hand) and wasn't it amazing that she was still going (in 2007).

― Rockist Scientist, Thursday, 3 May 2007 15:37 (nineteen years ago)

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