Farid Al Atrache
Farid Al Atrashe was a
Syrian composer
singer and
actor However, when he died in December 1974, the media in Egypt and Lebanon reported at that time that he was 65 years old. His actual birth date thus needs more research. Due to political unrest in Syria the 1920s his family moved to
Cairo,
Egypt. He got interested in music as he listened to his mother sing and play the
oud. After finishing school he was admitted to a music conservatory where he had the chance to know some famous
Arabic composers like Riyad al-Sonbati and Farid Ghosn.
Encyclopedia
Farid Al Atrashe was a
Syrian composer
singer and
actor However, when he died in December 1974, the media in Egypt and Lebanon reported at that time that he was 65 years old. His actual birth date thus needs more research. Due to political unrest in Syria the 1920s his family moved to
Cairo,
Egypt. He got interested in music as he listened to his mother sing and play the
oud. After finishing school he was admitted to a music conservatory where he had the chance to know some famous
Arabic composers like Riyad al-Sonbati and Farid Ghosn. When he finished conservatory he was hired by a radio orchestra as an oud player and singer. He soon published his first self-composed songs which included "Ya Zahratan Fi Khayali" and "Ya Raitni Tayr". Farid also entered the world of cinema, he was the star of many Egyptian movies like "Intisar al-Shabab", "Gharam wa Intiqam" and "Lahn al-Kholoud". Farid died in
Beirut,
Lebanon.
Early life
Farid was born in
Syria to a
Druze Royal family who fought the
French Colonial armies. In the mid 1920s he moved with his family to
Egypt escaping the French occupation, later on they were naturalized by the Egyptian government. 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.
Success and film career
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 belly-dancer
Samia Gamal, 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" , "Awell Hamsah" , "Tutah" and "Raqsitil Gamal" . 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 1952 Egyptian army coup d'état against
King Farouk I, 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. On December 26 1974, Farid died in Beirut in Al Hayek hospital . Farid is
buried in Cairo, Egypt.
Legacy
Over his lifetime, Farid starred in 31 movies and recorded approximately 350 songs. He also composed music for such famous singers as Wadih El-Safi, 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.
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