The pivotal phase of Umm Kulthum’s career came in 1926. In that year, she signed a contract with Gramophone Records who paid her an annual salary in addition to royalties for each disc sold. As she clinched economic security, she also began to define herself as a performer.
In the 1930’s cinema became the hottest craze in media and Umm Kulthum keenly left her mark there. She produced and acted in films which had similar romantic themes as her songs, including “exotic settings from Arab history, clearly drawn lies of good and evil, and resolutions in favor of goodness and justice” (Danielson, 88).
As she and her ensemble put poetry to music, Umm Kulthum achieved the unimaginable; she brought fine literature to the masses, many of whom were illiterate. Because of her broadcasts, young and old, rich and poor now hummed the words to intricate Arabic poetry that was previously inaccessible to most (122). In her monthly Thursday night concerts, her voice flooded the radio waves across the Middle East. Listeners sat attentive, minding every undulation in awe of the vocal control for which she was renowned.
For over fifty years, she stunned the Arab world with her unmatchable voice; her vocals able to penetrate people’s hearts and express the soul of nations. She is considered to be the most authentic producer of Egyptian and Arab music, recording some three hundred songs and creating a style and form that embodied the country’s musical tradition.
“Tall, with pitch black hair, Umm Kalthum was striking and with her words and voice she could create a magical atmosphere and enchant her listeners as no other Arab singer in the past or at present has been able to do. She had a uniquely expressive tone which could make her listeners laugh or even bring them to tears. Standing a few feet away from the microphone in an evening gown studded with diamonds, she twisted and crumpled a flowing scarf in her hands, as her voice, sometimes husky and strained or leaping with pangs of love, would hit some impossible tones. At other times, her alto voice which stretched to soprano or tenor and was punctuated, decorated and echoed by her orchestra, touched cosmic depths and brought on a mixture of longing, wistfulness and unfulfilled dreams.”
Salloum, H. (1995) Umm Kalthum: Legendary Songstress of the Arabs. Al Mashriq.
1. Photo Credit: “Umm Kulthum” Photos. Wikimedia Commons. 10 Aug. 2012 <commons.wikimedia.org>