Umm Kulthūm: Artistic Agency and the Shaping of an Arab Legend, 1967-2007

221 Pages·2010·4.29 MB·English

by  Laura Lohman

Umm Kulthūm
LAURA LOHMAN
Umm Kulthūm
ARTISTIC AGENCY AND THE SHAPING
OF AN ARAB LEGEND, 1967–2007
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PRESS
Middletown, Connecticut
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PRESS
Middletown, CT 06459
www.wesleyan.edu/wespress
© 2010 Laura Lohman
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Portions of this book appeared previously in a different form as “‘The Artist of the People in
the Battle’: Umm Kulthūm’s Concerts for Egypt in Political Context,” in Music and the Play of
Power in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, ed. Laudan Nooshin, Ashgate
Press, 2009, and “Preservation and Politicization: Umm Kulthūm’s National and International
Legacy,” Popular Music and Society 33 (1), 2010, http://www.informaworld.com.
Wesleyan University Press is a member of the Green Press Initiative. The paper used in this
book meets its minimum requirement for recycled paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lohman, Laura, 1974–
Umm Kulthūm : artistic agency and the shaping of an Arab legend, 1967–2007 /
Laura Lohman.
p. cm. — (Music/culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8195-7071-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Umm Kulthum, 1898–1975. 2. Singers—Egypt—Biography. I. Title.
ML420.U46L65 2010
782.4216′3092—dc22
[B] 2010023311
5 4 3 2 1
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the AMS 75 PAYS Endowment of the American
Musicological Society.
To my parents
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Chronology
Introduction
1. “A New Umm Kulthūm”
2. For Country or Self?
3. Sustaining a Career, Shaping a Legacy
4. From Artist to Legend
5. Mother of Egypt or Erotic Partner?
6. An Evolving Heritage
Epilogue
Notes
References
Index
Illustrations
Figures
A youth approaching the singer onstage
Crowd greets Umm Kulthūm at the Khartoum airport
Umm Kulthūm in a Sudanese-style dress
Umm Kulthūm at a Moroccan folk festival
A stadium holds Umm Kulthūm’s audience in Tunis
Umm Kulthūm in a Moroccan caftan
Umm Kulthūm in a Tunisian mosque
A Sudanese fan with the singer
Umm Kulthūm preparing to go onstage
The singer, the media, and ensemble travel abroad
Umm Kulthūm in a Tunisian orphanage
The singer and her namesake
Umm Kulthūm with her pet monkey
Umm Kulthūm with a child at home
A religious gift for the singer
Umm Kulthūm in front of the Fatah storm badge
Sudanese women surround the singer
The singer laughs alongside the same group of Sudanese women
Umm Kulthūm posing with farm animals
The singer and the Sphinx
A statue of the singer
The Umm Kulthūm museum
Musical Examples
Beginning of “Allāh Ma‘ak”
Excerpts from “ aqq Bilādak”
“Ba‘īd ‘Anak,” line 1 and ametrical improvisation
“Ba‘īd ‘Anak,” ghu n 2, metrical improvisation
“al-A lāl,” section VII
Excerpts from “al-Qalb Ya‘shaq Kull Jamīl”
Excerpts from “Asba a ‘Indī al-Ān Bundūqīyah”
Beginning of “Inta Omri d.j. mix”
Acknowledgments
The research for this book was made possible by the generous financial support of several
organizations. The National Endowment for the Humanities funded my research in Egypt
through a fellowship at the American Research Center in Egypt. A Jacob K. Javits Graduate
Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education supported the early research that I
conducted in the United States. A faculty stipend from California State University, Fullerton,
assisted in my later research and writing. Although the views, findings, and conclusions
expressed in this book do not necessarily represent those of the organizations that funded my
research, I am especially grateful for their financial support.
In Egypt, I benefited greatly from the insight, assistance, and patience of the many
journalists with whom I spoke. I am indebted to Farūq Ibrāhīm for his generosity in sharing his
time, knowledge, and exquisite photographs. I am grateful to Mu ammad Wajdī Qandīl, Mu
ammad Tabārak, ‘Afāf Ya yá, Mu ammad āli , Mu ammad Salmāwī, and asan Rajab for
the insights they shared in their many helpful interviews. A mad al- aghīr at Akhbār al-Yawm
gave invaluable assistance in gaining access to many of these writers and photographers.
Nadia Lu fī at al-Ahrām and the staff at Dār al-Hilāl and Idhā‘ah wa al-Tilīfizyūn generously
provided essential aid in utilizing publishing house archives.
Outside these publishing houses, I received help from many other individuals in Egypt. A
mad ‘Antar, director of the Umm Kulthūm Museum, helped me obtain numerous audio-visual
records, provided valuable insight on her rarely heard songs, and granted me generous access
to the museum’s collections. In addition, I thank Umm Kulthūm’s stepson, Mu ammad asan
al- ifnāwī, along with Nabīl Shūrah and Wajdī al- akīm, for their helpful discussions. My
research in Egypt would not have been possible without help from the entire staff at the
American Research Center in Egypt. Special thanks go to Jere Bacharach, Amīrah Khattab,
Amīr ‘Abd al- amīd, and Amīrah Jamāl.
Many individuals offered invaluable assistance during the lengthy and challenging process
of gaining access to the archives of the Egyptian State Radio and Television Union. In
particular, I offer heartfelt thanks to Charles Dibble and Yūsuf Sharīf Rizq Allāh, the former
president of Nile Television, for their help in gaining permission to utilize the resources of the
state television archives. I also thank Nabīl ‘U hmān, chairman of State Information Services,
for his help in accessing valuable audio recordings and video footage.
In the United States, I also have many to thank. I express my gratitude to Carol Muller and
Scott Marcus, in whose stimulating seminars I first formulated and explored the idea behind
this book. I also thank Dwight Reynolds, who provided a helpful forum for presenting and
discussing my early research. I am indebted to the late Eugene Wolf for his model of
meticulous scholarship and professionalism. At Wesleyan University Press, I owe many thanks
to Parker Smathers, the series editors, and the anonymous readers, all of whom offered critical
insight and guidance. Finally, I thank my parents for their unwavering support during the
challenging times spent researching and writing this book.