Fayrouz

The Rahbanis were mostly famous for their musical dialogues which they used in the many musical plays they wrote and directed. These masterpieces always included major artistic figures along with Fairouz, such as the great Wadih El Safi and Nasri Shamseddine. Some of these plays focused on historical events and others on love, comedy and simplicity in the Lebanese countryside:"Ayyam al Hassad" ('Days of Harvest' in 1957)"Al 'Urs fil qarya" ('The wedding in the village' in 1959)"Al Ba'albakiya" ('The girl from Baalbeck' in 1961)"Jisr el Amar" ('The bridge of the moon' in 1962)"'Awdet el 'Askar" ('The return of the soldiers' in 1962)"Al Layl wal Qandil" ('The night and the lantern' in 1963)"Biyya'el Khawatem" ('Rings for sale' in 1964)"Ayyam Fakhreddine" ('The days of Fakhreddine' in 1966)"Hala wal Malik" ('Hala and the King' in 1967)"Ach Chakhs" ('The person' in 1968-1969)"Jibal Al Sawwan" ('Sawwan mountains' in 1969)"Ya'ich Ya'ich" ('Long live, long live' in 1970)"Sah Ennawm" ('Did you sleep well?' in 1970-1971)"Nass min Wara'" ('People made out of paper' in 1971)"Natourit al Mafatih" ('The guardian of the keys' in 1972)"Al Mahatta" ('The Station' in 1973)"Qasidit Houb ('A poem of Love' in 1973)"Loulou" in 1974"Mais el Rim" in 1975"Petra" in 1977-1978Nearly all these musical plays were video-taped, nevertheless, only two are legally commercialised (Mais el Rim and Loulou), and there is a pirated version of Petra and one live version of Mais el Rim in Black and White. All these musical plays are sold on audio CDs except for "Ayyam al hassad" (Days of harvest) which was never recorded and "Al 'Urs fil qarya" (The marriage in the village) which was recorded but not released. A pirated audio track is available for this play.Fairuz seems to be very mysterious on how she commercialises her concerts and plays. Only Las Vegas 1999 concert is legally commercialised. Many others are sold by pirates (Kuwait 1966, Syria and Egypt 1976, Paris Olympia 1979, Australia 1984, Syria 1985, Bahrain 1987, France 1988, London 1994, and some of the new Beiteddine concerts).Her Music In 1969, Fairuzs music was banned in Lebanon by order of the government because she refused to sing at the honor of the Algerian president Houari Boumédienne. Fairuz performed in most countries around the world and was known for her songs about love, Lebanese patriotism, peace, traditional poetry and religious hymns. They had become Fairuz and the Rahbani Brothers, yielding smash records and performances month after month. They became the most famous and dominant music production team of their time, as they spread beyond the Arab World and into Europe, the Americas, and Australia. Assi her husband composed the music and his brother wrote most of the lyrics and poetry. Their youngest brother Elias also worked on the musical composition and later took after his older brother when he fell sick and composed for Fairouz some of her best songs. During the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), Fairuz never left Lebanon and never sang inside it because it pained her to see the Lebanese killing each other. That didnt prevent her from having several international tours and concerts outside. She held huge, record-breaking concerts throughout the world in the late 70s and throughout the 80s. She kept on recording with the trio team of her son Ziad Rahbani, his friend Joseph Sakr, and Philemon Wehbi and the smash hits kept rolling in as strong and continuous since 20 years before. Joseph Harb gave her some of the best lyrics/poems while Philemon Wehby gave these lyrics/poems tunes and music compositions cherished by the masses just as Ziad also composed and wrote his mother great songs. From modern Arab sounds with jazz appeal to traditional-scale and oriental tunes, her voice fit all types of music genres and she could express emotion with her voice as if they were facial expressions or simple photos. To some, her music was the thin ray of hope left in a country engulfed in darkness and chaos. In the 90s she held a number of huge, big-scale concert recitals. One historic appearance in Baalbek (1998) after 20 years of absence, another highlight is the massive concert at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Arena (1999) which broke box-office sales records and over 16,000 Arabs flocked the city from all over the American continent and Europe to attend. And later, she performed for 3 consecutive summers at the Beiteddine Festivals which were marked with tremendous success, sold-out nights, and yielded another huge album of the live concerts. She has sung about 1500 songs and sold about 80 million units of records around the world, but what remains her greatest achievement in terms of vocal performance and talent is the CD of the Orthodox Great Friday Prayers that she recorded in 1965 in Lebanon and then again in 1985 in the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in France, both live performances in churches. Her voice simply transcends the human hearing range and nature to reach an ethereal state that takes you beyond a mere hearing experience. Any one around the world who has the chance to hear her holy prayers, no matter what religion or sect, has the chance to experience heaven on earth, or at least to know how an angels voice sounds. Fairuz sang in many internationally famous venues like the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1962, in Carnegie Hall, New York in 1971, London Palladium in 1978, Paris Olympia in 1979, and in the Royal Festival Hall, London in 1986. Later recordings featured jazz-tinted compositions, some of which were written by Ziad Rahbani.At the age of 70, and to the amazement of her fans, still has the same angelic voice that has enchanted millions for decades and after undergoing several tests in United States, seems to have solid vocal cords that didn't change much in structure with aging, a rarity among recording artists who strain their vocals most of their lives. She is considered the most popular and respected living Arab singer.Discography Fairuz has a total of 84 CD collection. A new album is supposed to be released anytime soon. Most of these albums are the work of the Rahbani brothers (Everything Fairuz). MoviesScenes from Fayrouz's movies1968 'Bint Al-Harass' (The Guard's Daughter)1967 'Saferbarlek' (The Exile)1964 'Bia'a El-Khawatem' (Rings For Sale) TelevisionFayrouz's Details Status: Single Here for: Friends Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon Body type: 5' 0" / Slim / Slender Ethnicity: Middle Eastern Religion: Catholic Zodiac Sign: Scorpio Children: Proud parent Occupation: Performer Fayrouz is in your extended networkFayrouz's Latest Blog Entry [Subscribe to this Blog] Fayrouz will sing in Cairo this September (view more) [View All Blog Entries]Fayrouz's Blurbs About me: a wonderful site dedicated to Fayrouz Fayrouz Online THIS PROFILE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION !!! Born and educated in Beirut, she began her musical career as a chorus member at the Lebanese Radio Station. In the late 1950s her talent as a singer became fully acknowledged. Met with unprecedented enthusiasm, Fayrouz's early songs featured the singer's distinct vocal timbre and lyrics expressing romantic love and nostalgia for village life. They meshed with a delicate orchestral blend in which certain Arab instruments figured prominently but which also subtly incorporated European instruments and European popular dance rythms.She also sometimes sang adaptations Arab folk tunes. By the early 1960s Fayrouz was already one of the main attractions of the annual Baalbeck Festivals and a celebrety not only in Lebanon but throughout the Arab world. The dissemination of hundreds of songs, many musical plays and several films had widened her audience to include Arabs living in Europe and the Americas.During most of her singing career, Fayrouz was part of a three-member team which included the two Rahbani brothers. Generally, her lyrics were written by Mansour Rahbani, and the tunes were composed and arranged by his brother 'Assi, Fayrouz's former husband. Fayrouz's songs owe a great deal to the musical and poetic genius of these two Lebanese artists. In recent years they have also reflected the composing talent of Ziad Rahbani, Fayrouz's son. In addition, they testify to Fayrouz's broad musical background, which encompasses Christian liturgical forms as well as the secular traditions of Arab music.The Fayrouz-Rahbani legacy is a peculiarly twentieth-century cultural phenomenon. During the early postwar decades, most urban communities in the Arab world underwent rapid expansion, partly because of an influx of population from the rural areas. The city of Beirut in particular had absorbed a substantial number of people whose ethnic and social roots went back to various Lebanese villages, especially those in the mountainous regions of central and northern Lebanon. Politically and socially influential, this segment provided fertile ground for the rise of a new artistic tradition - music, dance, poetry, fashions, handicrafts - whose context was unmistakably urban but whose ration was folk and rural.Born and educated in Beirut, she began her musical career as a chorus member at the Lebanese Radio Station. In the late 1950s her talent as a singer became fully acknowledged. Met with unprecedented enthusiasm, Fayrouz's early songs featured the singer's distinct vocal timbre and lyrics expressing romantic love and nostalgia for village life. They meshed with a delicate orchestral blend in which certain Arab instruments figured prominently but which also subtly incorporated European instruments and European popular dance rythms.She also sometimes sang adaptations Arab folk tunes. By the early 1960s Fayrouz was already one of the main attractions of the annual Baalbeck Festivals and a celebrity not only in Lebanon but throughout the Arab world. The dissemination of hundreds of songs, many musical plays and several films had widened her audience to include Arabs living in Europe and the Americas.During most of her singing career, Fayrouz was part of a three-member team which included the two Rahbani brothers. Generally, her lyrics were written by Mansour Rahbani, and the tunes were composed and arranged by his brother 'Assi, Fayrouz's former husband. Fayrouz's songs owe a great deal to the musical and poetic genius of these two Lebanese artists. In recent years they have also reflected the composing talent of Ziad Rahbani, Fayrouz's son. In addition, they testify to Fayrouz's broad musical background, which encompasses Christian liturgical forms as well as the secular traditions of Arab music.The Fayrouz-Rahbani legacy is a peculiarly twentieth-century cultural phenomenon. During the early postwar decades, most urban communities in the Arab world underwent rapid expansion, partly because of an influx of population from the rural areas. The city of Beirut in particular had absorbed a substantial number of people whose ethnic and social roots went back to various Lebanese villages, especially those in the mountainous regions of central and northern Lebanon. Politically and socially influential, this segment provided fertile ground for the rise of a new artistic tradition - music, dance, poetry, fashions, handicrafts - whose context was unmistakably urban but whose ration was folk and rural.Origins of a Legend by Sargon BoulosOne day in 1935, Wadi' Haddad moved his wife and two children into a new home on the cobblestone alley called zuqaq al-blat, an old neighborhood in Beirut where the poor of all denominations have for generations found company and shelter. The Haddads new home consisted of a single room on the street level of a typical stone house that faced Beirut's Patriarchate school.Several other families were also living in the house; the residents shared the kitchen and other facilities. This was a time of migrations when a family could suddenly appear from nowhere and seek their next of kin, relatives, or just acquaintances from their own village who had already arrived in the big city. Wadi' worked as a typesetter in a nearby print shop, was quiet and gentle in manner; he was readily accepted by the folk of the neighborhood as one of themselves.