أسمهان

أسمهان {Asmahan} 1918-1944 Was A Syrian-Born Egyptian Singer. She Was Born On 25th November 1918 Amal Al-Atrache To Fahd Al-Atrache A Syrian Druze From Suwayda And 'Alia Al-Mundhir A Lebanese Druze From Hasbaya. Her Brother Was The Singer Composer Actor And Oud Virtuoso فريد الأطرش Farid Al-Atrache . She Was Syrian Druze And Her Forefathers Had Been Emirs In The Druze Mountains In The Levant Until Lebanon And Syria Became A French Mandate In 1920. Asmahan's Father Was Governor Of The District Of Demirci In Turkey During The Last Days Of The Ottoman Empire. When Syria Fell To The Allies In 1918 He Fearing Revenge Fled The Country With His Two Sons And Pregnant Wife. On 18th November 1918 They Embarked On A Ship From İzmir To Beirut And Asmahan Was Born On Board. She Was Named "Amal" Meaning "hopes". She Was Also Called "Emily" But Always Preferred The Name "Amal". Fahd Later Worked As A Judge In Suwayda. Following The Adham Khanjar Incident In 1922 The Al-Atrache Home In Al-Qrayya Town In Jabal Al-Druze Was Bombed By French Forces. 'Alia Fled With Her Children To Damascus And Then To Beirut. Despite Orders From Fahd 'Alia Refused To Return. Asmahan Later Recalled Her Childhood Years In Jabal Al-Druze As "untouched By Anything Truly Bad". 'Alia And The Three Children Travelled To Beirut But After Discovering That The French Were Searching For Them There They Stopped In Haifa In Palestine And Eventually Emigrated To Egypt. 'Alia And The Three Children Chose To Settle In Cairo Because 'Alia Knew That Egypt's Then Nationalist Prime Minister Saad Zaghloul And Her Husband's Relative Sultan Al-Atrache Were On Corresponding Terms. According To Family Accounts 'Alia Was Permitted To Enter Egypt Under The Sponsorship Of Saad Zaghloul. 'Alia And Her Three Children Fuad Farid And Amal Were Later Naturalised As Egyptian Citizens. Amal's Vocal Talent Was Discovered At An Early Age. Once When Her Brother Farid Received One Of Egypt's Most Famous Composers Dawood Hosni In Their Home The Latter Overheard Her Singing In Her Room And Insisted On Seeing Her Immediately. He Then Asked Her To Sing Again. He Was Much Impressed By The Performance And Told Her One Of His Former Pupils Asmahan Who Had A Beautiful Voice Had Died Too Young Before Savouring The Fame That Would Have Been Her Due. Amal Thereupon Changed Her Name To That Of Hosni's Deceased Pupil. Asmahan Rose To Fame Quickly She Was Not Even Fourteen Years Old When She Was Introduced To The Public At A Concert At The Prestigious Cairo Opera House A Performance Captured On The Columbia Records Label Where She Sang Songs Composed By Her Mentors The Composers Hosni Farid Ghosn Mohamed El Qasabgi And Zakariyya Ahmad. At Sixteen Asmahan Was Asked By An Egyptian Record Company To Record Her First Album Featuring Her First Song "Ya Nar Fouadi" By Farid Ghosn. Asmahan Then Dropped Out Of School To Study At One Of The Most Prestigious Music Academies In Egypt. A Variety Of Teachers Advanced Her Vocal And Musical Studies. Hosni Volunteered To Instruct Asmahan On How To Play The Oud Qasabgi Offered To Teach Her The Maqams And How To Bridge The Transition Between Them While Ahmad Lent A Hand By Tutoring Her In Both The General Principles Of Singing And Enunciation. With Their Assistance She Was Offered A Contract With Columbia Records Singing Almost Exclusively In The Egyptian Dialect Of Arabic Asmahan Was Particularly Fond Of Performing Songs By أم كلثوم Oum Kalthoum And محمد عبد الوهاب Mohamed Abdel Wahab . When Asked To Sing About Cultural Patriotism And Love She Sang Of Egypt. Since Singers And Studios Depended On The Elites Asmahan Had To Sing Songs On Uplifting Nationalist Themes Or In Praise Of The Egyptian Royal Family. She Also Started Singing At Mary Mansour's Night Club Alongside Her Brother Farid. Asmahan's Older Brother Fuad And Other Druze Relatives Considered A Career In Entertainment For A Girl To Be Disgraceful And It Was Difficult For Them To Accept Her Integration Into The Heterogeneous Egyptian Social Scene. The Clearly-Defined Divisions Along Religious Lines Of The Syrian Countryside Did Not Operate In Egypt. During Two Marriage Reunions With Her Cousin And A Move Back To Syria Her Musical Career Came To A Standstill. When The Marriage Broke Up She Left For Egypt Immediately Even Before She Had Obtained The Bill Of Divorce. With Her Return To Egypt And A Singing Career She Finally Repudiated "respectability" Leaving Both Her Relatives And Syrian Druze Society Furious. When Her First Film Intisar Al-Shabab Was Released In Syria One Young Druze Shot At The Screen When The Character Played By Asmahan Appeared. In 1941 During World War II Asmahan Returned To The French Mandate Of Syria Syria Was Under The Rule Of Vichy France At That Time . She Was On A Secret Mission To Convince Her People In Jabal Al-Druze To Allow The British And Free French Forces To Enter Syria Through Their Territory Without A Fight. The British And Free French Promised The Independence Of Syria In Return And The Druze Agreed. After The Allies Secured Syria During The Syria-Lebanon Campaign General Charles De Gaulle Visited Syria And Met Asmahan. When The Allies Failed To Carry Out Their Promise For Syrian Independence She Tried To Contact The Nazis In Turkey But Was Stopped At The Border And Sent To Lebanon. On 14th July 1944 A Car Carrying Asmahan And A Female Friend Crashed Into The Nile River After The Driver Lost Control Near The City Of Mansoura Egypt. With No Direct Access To A Door The Women Were Trapped And Subsequently Drowned. The Driver However Managed To Escape. These Circumstances Gave Rise To Many Suspicions And Rumours And Much Controversy. Tabloids Were Rife With Conspiracy Theories. British Intelligence For Example After Many Reports Circulated Claiming She Had Been Working For Them Was Accused Of Having Got Rid Of Her After She Had Handed Over Military Information To The Germans. The German Gestapo Was Also Accused Of Murdering Her For The Help She Had Given The British. Asmahan Was Buried In Egypt In Accordance With Her Wishes Alongside Her Two Brothers Fuad And Farid Al-Atrache In The Fustat Plain In Cairo Which She And Brother Farid Along With Egyptian Crooner Abdel Halim Hafez Had Restored To Some Of Its Former Glory. read less