Last week one of my friends said that my looks were similar as those of Fayrouz. Who? I asked curiously.
“Nouhad Wadi Haddad, known as Fayrouz, born 21 november, 1935, is a Lebanese singer who is among the most widely admired and deeply respected living singers in the Arab world.”
A few days later I visited the music shop in Al Hafa Suq in Salalah. With joy I kept the CD ‘Eh…Fi Amal’ (Yes, there is hope) of Fayrouz in my hand. Eh….Fi Amal, released on 7 October 2010, is special in many ways.
The Rahbani brothers, Assi and Mansour, who worked at the radio station as musicians, discovered her talent. The chemistry was instant, and soon after, Assi started to compose songs for Fayrouz. One of which was ‘Itab’ (the third song he composed for her) was an immediate smash hit in all of the Arab world, establishing Fayrouz as one of the most prominent Arab singers on the Arabic music scene. Assi and Fairuz were married on 23 January 1955. In 1979 Fayrouz and the brothers agreed to end their professional and personal relationship. Fayrouz now works exclusively with her composer son. Eh…Fi Amal produced by Fayrouz productions is entirely written by her son Ziad Rahbani.
Fayrouz possesses a large repertoire of around 1500 songs out of which only about 800 have been released. She has also been offered prestigious awards and titles over the years. Fayrouz has performed in many countries around the globe.
The Rahbani Brothers produced 25 popular musical plays (20 with Fayrouz) over a period of more than 30 years. They were possibly the first to produce world-class Arabic musical theatre.
In the July/August 1972 print edition of Saudi Aramco World, William Tracy, Assistant Editor of Aramco World, wrote in the article Fayrouz on tour:
“I must say…that Fayrouz is an exceptional artist, exceptionally gifted, and inhabited by the soul of the poets of her race. I believe I would have felt that even if I had not felt the vibrations around me of the thousands of Arabs who were not just applauding a star.”
While writing this article, I listen to Fayrouz beautiful voice .
al'arba 