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Fairuz, born as Nouhad Haddad, first born to Wadi' Haddad and Liza Alboustani
on the 21st of November 1935. The Haddad family lived in a humble house
consisting of a single room on a cobblestone alley called zuqaq al-blat, an old
neighbourhood in Beirut where the poor of all denominations had for generations
found company and shelter.
Several other families lived in the same building. The residents shared the
kitchen and other facilities. This was a time of migrations when a family would
suddenly appear from nowhere and seek their next of kin, relatives, or just
acquaintances from their own village who had already arrived in the big city.
Wadi' (a name meaning "meek"), who worked as a typesetter in the nearby Le Jour
print shop, was quiet and gentle in manner. He was readily accepted by the folk
of the neighbourhood as one of their own.
Nouhad, who would later grow up to be Fairuz, one of the most famous singers of
the Arab nation and the world as a whole, and a legend in her own time,
displayed a natural flair for singing from her early childhood. Many a winter
night, in neighbourhood gatherings, she would surprise everyone by suddenly
bursting out into song.
They were poor as Fairuz remembers but still insists that their lives were happy
and they were never needy. Her family could not afford to own a radio, the
magical commodity possessed by a fortunate few; it was a vehicle for dreams
that, in the houses of the poor, provided solace and a vague feeling of
belonging to whatever was throbbing out there beyond their reach. She used to
sit on the window ledge to listen to the songs that fascinated her from the
neighbour's radio. Some of the songs that she loved to sing over and over again
in those early days were those by Laila Murad and Asmahan, two female singers
famous at that time. She did that as she stood in the backyard washing utensils,
kneading the dough for marqouq (the Lebanese mountain bread), or helping her
mother in the morning. At the same time, being the eldest, she had to take care
of her two sisters, Huda and Amal, and her brother Joseph. Sharing things was an
article of faith, as it still is among the poor. Once a week, a woman neighbour
would shout to the mother from the window to send her children over for their
bath. She would bathe the Haddad children with her own and before they would be
tucked in bed the Haddad girl, lounging on her mattress, would sing for them a
song or two for a good night's sleep.
Nouhad was well known by all for her great love for flowers. She spent much of
her time gathering wild flowers and arranging them into bouquets to decorate
their home with. She loved flowers so much that her mother used to tease her
that she will marry her off only to a gardener. She was a shy girl who shied
away from others and even from friends. At the same time, she was serious and
responsible in her ways. The only times she overcame her shyness were at
gatherings where she was asked to sing, for she was known for the beauty of her
voice since her early days.
Her love for flowers was rivalled only by her love for her maternal grandmother
who lived in a village called Aldubbiyyah. Nuhad used to spend most of her
summer vacations at her grandmother’s house helping her with her chores by day
and listening to her stories at night.
The father put aside some of his meagre income for his children's education, so
Nouhad was able to attend school, where her voice was immediately recognized as
having a unique quality that could transmute ordinary national hymns into
something beguiling. She was a good pupil, though she hated arithmetics with
passion. She could never understand the concept of adding or subtracting
numbers, not to speak of multiplying them. It is said that she was never able to
learn the multiplication table by heart till this day.
At a school party one day in 1946, a teacher from the Lebanese Conservatory
heard her and was struck by a certain intimation that he had just made a
discovery. This man, Muhammad Fleifel, was looking for new talents at that time
among school children to sing national hymns for airing on the newly established
Lebanese Radio Station. Nouhad’s conservative father was bothered by the idea
that his daughter will sing in public and refused to grant his permission to
Fleifel in the beginning. He also wanted Nouhad to continue with her school
education. But Fleifel eventually convinced Mr. Haddad by assuring him that
Nouhad will only participate in singing patriotic songs and that he, Fleifel,
will pay for all the expenses of her education at the national conservatoire.
After agreeing, Nouhad’s father also demanded that her brother Joseph accompany
her.
The conservatoire at that time was headed by Wadi' Sabra, the composer of the
Lebanese anthem, who in turn refused to take any tuition fees from Nouhad and
other students referred by Fleifel. Hearing the golden reverberations latent
within the young singer's throat, Fleifel tended to her voice with fatherly
care. He instructed her not to eat spicy food, citrus, or anything else that
might hurt her vocal cords. He also cautioned her about singing in high
register, or parts that required a shrill delivery. Later on, he was
instrumental in helping her enter the National Conservatory. Perhaps his most
outstanding contribution is that he taught her how to chant verses from the
Koran according to what is known as tajwid, the high style of Koranic intonation
in classic Arabic. Her studies at the conservatoire lasted four years, after
which, Fleifel helped her in getting presented in front of the committee
composed of Halim Al-Roumi, Khaled Abo Alnaser, Nqoula Almani and others who
were appointed to test voices for the Lebanese Radio station. It was a deciding
day in Nuhad’s life. She stood there in her perpetual self-imposed code of
clothing (blouse and skirt) and, with the accompaniment of Halim Al-Rumi on his
oud, she sang Ya dirati Of Asmahan. Halim Al-Rumi was so stunned with her voice
that he stopped playing in the middle of the song. Nuhad went on to sing the
beginning of Fareed Elatrashe’s song Ya zharatan fi khayali by the end of which,
she was surrounded by the committee members who congratulated her profusely and
showed their appreciation for her unique voice.
Al-Roumi, especially, was deeply impressed by her voice, which he found to be
typically Eastern and at the same time flexible enough to render a Western mode
admirably. She was appointed as a chorus singer at the radio station in Beirut
after obtaining the agreement of her parents and that of the director of the
Lebanese Radio Station, Mr. Fayez Makarem. Her father objected to her going to
the radio station at first. It took a lot of coaxing and some heavy-handed
interference by close acquaintances to convince him. He stipulated that Fairuz
was to be accompanied by her mother, her brother Joseph, or the neighbour's boy
when she went to the station.
"My wish was to sing on the radio," Fairuz reminisces. "I was told then that I'd
be paid 100 pounds ($21.00) a month. To me, this was overwhelming. But at the
end of the month I wasn't fortunate enough to fill my eyes with a 100-pound
note, because of the tax deductions (she received only 95 pounds after the tax
cut). It took me a long time to get hold of a 100-pound note intact". Her first
salary was spent right away on shopping for her and her siblings whom she wanted
to “spoil” a little and compensate them for the financial difficulties they
lived in all their lives.
This was a period of practice and observation for Fairuz. She closely studied
the style of delivery of each singer in the chorus, and it often happened that
she substituted for another singer who was delayed or failed to appear. She had
a keen artistic sensibility and a memory so sharp that she was able to learn by
heart in two hours four pages of poetry or five of notation. Nouhad’s stint in
the choir lasted about two months until she was auditioned for her solo
performances.
Her first solo song was composed by Halim al-Roumi, with words by Michael Awadh,
called Tarakt qalbi w tawa’t hubbak which went: I left my heart to follow
you/but ended up burning/far away from your love. While preparing to air the
song, Halim Al-Roumi suggested that Nuhad take one of two stage names he
proposed for her: Scheherazade and Fairuz. Not taking him seriously at first,
she finally took his advice and chose the name Fairuz. The song was aired in the
beginning of April 1950. The second song, Fi Jaww Sihr wa Jamal, was in the
Egyptian dialect. The third, A’ashiq Elward was sung as a duet with Halim Al-Roumi.
It was followed by two more songs: Ya hamam and Ahibbak mahma ashouf minnak
which were cut on commercial records in 1952.
These were followed by many other short light songs of varied flavours,
specially chosen by Halim Al-Roumi in an effort to keep Fairuz unrestrained by a
single delivery method. By 1951, she had sung songs written by El roumi, Medhat
Asem, Nikola Almani, Salim Elhelou, Mohamed Mohsen, Tawfick Basha, Khaled Abou
Naser and many others.
Al-Roumi, so excited about the talent he had discovered and being too busy
himself to give her her dues, he suggested to introduce Fairuz to Assi Rahbani,
a policeman by profession, violin player at the radio station and an aspiring
composer. She was not overjoyed with the prospect at first saying that she did
not like to talk to Assi. But he was successful in changing her mind. Assi’s
first reaction was that Fairuz’s voice was suitable only for folkloric songs but
not for the more modern songs he was interested in. Al-Roumi countered by saying
that Fairuz’s voice was unlimited in its capabilities, that it is capable of
delivering modern as well as folkloric songs and that it will be recognized in
the future as the most capable voice to sing modern music in the world. His
foresight was proven correct.
The first song she sang for Assi was Lama wa Lamyaa, a duet she sang with a
singer called Hanan. The first solo song Assi composed for Fairuz was Ghuroub by
the poet Qeblan Mkarzal, followed by Maroushka. This was followed by the
watershed song, that launched their career, a melancholic song called 'Itab
(Reproaches) that began: You keep blaming me and I/of blame have had enough/my
body has withered away/under the burden/and you say/you want to go away/please
do/my heart is used to pain. Overnight, 'Itab established Fairuz as a major
singer throughout the Arab world. One of the reasons for the song's success was
the excellence of the equipment at the Damascus radio station where the song was
recorded on November 12, 1952. Later a commercial disc was cut in Paris. Their
fourth song was Raja’a. Other songs of this early era were Bilmah thelal elhub
fi a’uyounuh and Qawi hubbak. Thereafter, Mansour Rahbani, Assi’s younger
brother, joined them to form the Rahbani trinity which went on to make history.
At first, their efforts were mainly in the area of light, dance tunes. Beirut
was attracting big bands who came from overseas to play tangos and rumbas to an
expanding Westernised segment in the Lebanese capital. One of these was the
Eduardo Bianco band from Argentina. While recording at the Near East
Broadcasting studios, Sabri Sharif, who directed the music section there,
suggested a new experiment hitherto untried in Eastern music. Fairuz was to
sing, with Bianco's orchestra, tunes originally composed for dancing, like La
Comparcita and the tango La Boheme. This took place on October 1, 1951, a
decisive day in the life of Fairuz and the two Rahbani brothers, 'Assi and
Mansour. They believed that this was the true beginning of the dance-song in
Arab music; only Midhat 'Assim an Egyptian composer, had been experimenting in
this direction before.
At that time, radio program went directly on the air and were not recorded.
While waiting their turn, Fairuz and her composer 'Assi, by now her constant
companion, used to sit under a tree near a pond in the backyard of the
broadcasting studio. Sometimes she daydreamed, but often they chatted together
to kill time. She did not anticipate a great future for herself as a singer.
Rather, her real dream was to become a teacher. She had said on many occasions
that she would never get married. Brought up in a devout Melkite household,
almost ascetic in her manners and bearing, Fairuz was typical of many Lebanese
young women of her class and age. Many of the people who have known her tell how
they often found her during a break kneeling in prayer somewhere in the vicinity
of the recording studio.
One day Fairuz, in passing, told 'Assi that she did not like the way he paid
attention to a certain girl at the station. This innocent remark did not go
unnoticed. She still kept to herself and persisted in her obstinate rejection of
the idea of marriage. But on a certain spring day in 1954, while they were
practising together at the edge of the same pond, under the same tree, 'Assi
repeated an earlier offer of marriage. This time Fairuz said yes.
They got married n January 23rd, 1955. At their wedding, large crowds of
Beirutis gathered in that Sunday afternoon to witness the ceremonies. To the
Lebanese, Hotel Massabki in Chtoura, surrounded by aloe trees, is a dream place
that lies in the heart of Lebanon's mountains; there, right after the wedding,
the bride and groom went to spend their honeymoon.
With songs like Itab, Fairuz and the Rahbani brothers were starting to become
famous in many countries around the Arab world. They were invited many times by
the Damascus radio station to present their works. Another radio station, Sawet
Al-arab from Egypt, sent their leading anchor Ahmed Said to Lebanon to strike a
deal with the trio. In 1955 the Rahbani brothers and Fairuz went to Cairo, and
it was there they wrote the most important musical work at that time, Rajioun.
Fairuz also sang many other songs including duets with the Egyptian singer Karem
Mahmoud.
Fairuz and the Rahbanis returned to Beirut six months later, and on the first
day of 1956 she gave birth to her first son Ziad. In the summer of 1957, she
faced an audience in the open for the first time (her first concert took place
the same year in Nadi ad Doubbat, Damascus), standing at the base of one of the
six columns that comprise the temple of Jupiter in Baalbeck. It was the largest
audience that had ever gathered at the Roman temple. Under a crescent moon,
Fairuz, flooded with blue light, began to sing, in a calm, confident voice,
Lubnan Ya Akhdar Hilo (O Green, Sweet Lebanon). People were spellbound; it was a
magical moment. From that day on, Fairuz would sing and act, at least once a
year, in major musicals such as al-Baalbeckiyya (The Baalbeck Woman), a fantasy
in which gods ordain Voice to come to life among humans; Jisr al-Qamar (Bridge
of the Moon), where a charitable fairy makes peace between parties hostile to
each other; and Ayyam Fakhreddin (The Days of Fakhreddin), the story of a
seventeenth-century prince who struggles to rebuild his country, having
faithfully fought for its liberation. Fairuz was on her way.
Whereas before her talent had found expression only through the lyrics and music
of the two Lebanese brothers 'Assi and Mansour Rahbani, now the most creative
poets of the Arab world rushed to compose lyrics to be interpreted by her voice.
The list of those who have written lyrics for one or more of her over 800 songs
includes 'Omar Abu Risha, Qablan Mkarzil, Nizar Qabbani, Michel Trad, Sa'id 'Aql,
Joseph Harb, As'ad Saba, Badawi al-Jabal, Abu Salma, and other contemporary
poets. She has also sung works by Kahlil Gibran, Mikha'il Nu'aimeh, Elias Abu
Shabaka, Harun H. Rashid, and Boulus Salameh, as well as by such ancient
classical poets as Ibn Dhuraiq alBaghdadi, Ibn Jubair, and Ayadmur al-Muhyawi.
Fairuz's list of composers has expanded to include Tawfiq al-Basha, Fi lmon
Wahbeh, Zaki Nasif, Khali d Abul Nasr, George Daher, Muhammad 'Abd alWahab,
Halim al-Rumi, and now her own son Ziad.
She also starred in three motion pictures produced in the 60’s: Biyyaa'
Elkhawatem directed by Yousef Chahine, Safar Barlek directed by Henry Barakat
and Bint Elhares, also directed by Henry Barakat. Her social life However, was
and still is very conservative. She disliked the idea of going to parties and
other social gatherings, and preferred to stay at home with her children.
Fairuz had an impact on Beirut when it was experiencing the growing impact of
modernization. The influence that Fairuz had on the country was vast, she
managed to portray the Lebanese culture to the Western world.
Her songs, many of which were originally sung in folkloric musical plays, were
compatible with the political, social, and demographic trends in Lebanon,
especially as they existed before the civil war. Her songs have often expressed
widely-shared Arab sentiments and used texts in classical Arabic by well-known
poets such as Kahlil Gibran. Some songs have been based on the traditional
muwashshah vocal form; others represent modern adaptations of older classics by
the early twentieth century such as the works of Sayyid Darwiche and others.
Fairuz's early songs featured the singer's distinct vocal timbre and lyrics
expressing romantic love and nostalgia for village life. They meshed with a
delicate orchestral blend in which certain Arab instruments figured prominently
but which also subtly incorporated Western instruments and Western popular dance
rhythms. She also sometimes sang adaptations of Arab folk tunes. By the early
1960s, Fairuz was already one of the main attractions of the annual Baalbeck
Festivals and a celebrity not only in Lebanon but throughout the Arab world. The
dissemination of hundreds of songs, many musical plays and several films had
widened her audience to include Arabs living in Europe and the Americas.
Since the first time she appeared live before an audience in 1957, Fairuz has
travelled to places that as a child she seemingly could hope to know only
through her grandparents' tales. She has sung at the ruins of the Philadelphia
Amphitheatre in Amman, as well as in Damascus, Baghdad, Rabat, Algiers, Cairo,
Tunis; she has travelled overseas, reaching out to Arab emigrants in Rio de
Janiero, Buenos Aires, New York, San Francisco, Montreal, London, Paris, and
many other cities throughout the world. On these trips, Fairuz has been offered
as a traditional gesture of welcome, the symbolic key to many cities; perhaps
the closest to her heart remains the golden key she received from the Mayor of
Jerusalem which she received during a private visit there with her father in
1961. Although Fairuz did not sing during her one visit to the holy city,
Jerusalem is honored in many of the songs she has sung since her pilgrimage
there.
Fairuz's and the Rahbanis' relationship with Damascus calls for a special
mention at this point. Damascus was where their art found its widest acceptance
even at the time when it was being fought and criticized in their own homeland.
No other stage hosted them as much and as enthusiastically as the stage of the
Damascus International Festival where they presented their plays in addition to
their specially prepared variety shows. Late each summer, Damascus, Barada and
Kasion were at a renewed encounter with art and love. As for the Rahbanis and
Fairuz, they certainly felt the same love for Damascus and Syria and showed
their gratitude by writing and composing many songs to honour them. You need not
go any further in search of a proof for this mutual love than listening to
Fairuz sing "Ana sawti minka ya Barada", that phrase which is still repeated By
Syrians till this day with deep longing for those glorious days of the age of
eternal art.
The collaboration of two and a half decades between Fairuz and the Rahbani
Brothers resulted in a wealth of production unprecedented in the Arab world. She
sang more than 800 songs, played in more than 20 musical plays, 3 motion
pictures, several musical sketches, not to mention the innumerable concerts,
tours and other appearances all over the Arab and Western world. They wrote and
sang for a wide variety of subjects, speaking to the hearts and minds of almost
every single Arab person. Fairuz sang for countries, cities and people. Never
for a single political figure. She sang of love, happiness, sadness, hope and
optimism. She sang for the Palestinian people and their cause. She sang for
mother earth, the skies, stars and the moon. For children, mothers and fathers,
sisters and brothers, daughters and sons. She sang her heart out for her beloved
country, Lebanon and carried it with her all over the world. But most of all,
she prayed and confessed her faith in God. God and prayer are all over her songs
for she is a devout believer. Rarely a topic escaped Fairuz’s and the Rahbani
Brothers’ attention. They spoke to people of all ages, denominations and
nationalities.
In the late 70’s however, Fairuz’s relationship with Assi and Mansour
deteriorated and their work bond was broken. She continued singing the Rahbani
songs as well as her son’s Ziad creative and mainly jazz influenced songs. She
also got to work with Zaki Nassif and recently with Mohamed Mohsen after many
decades of their last co-operation together.
During the Lebanese civil war, Fairuz decided to remain in Beirut even though
she had the financial ability to live abroad, and not even after her own house
was attacked with a missile. Fairuz didn’t sing in Lebanon during most of the
years of the war because she didn’t want to imply bias to any group. When the
civil war ended, she held a concert in Beirut in 1994. Fairuz returned to
Baalbeck in 1998 and her concerts were a smashing success. She continues to
release new material and perform concerts around the world.
Fairuz's songs owe a great deal to the musical and poetic genius of the Rahbani
Brothers. In recent years, they have also reflected the composing talent of Ziad
Rahbani, Fairuz's son. In addition, they testify to Fairuz's broad musical
background, which encompasses Christian liturgical forms as well as the secular
traditions of Arab music.
Of her most notable works of late were the two concerts she held in cooperation
with her son Ziad at the Beiteddine Palace in the years 2000 and 2001. These two
concerts heralded a new era in the life and works of Fairuz and made clear her
choice and preference to Ziad’s compositions. Her latest album Wala Keef, also
in cooperation with Ziad, put the final seal on the exclusivity of Ziad in any
works to come in the future.
Bibliography:
* “Origins of a Legend” by Sargon Boulos
* “Fairuz, her life and songs” by Majeed Trad and Rabee’ Muhammed Khaleefeh
* “Fairuz, almutriba wal mishwar” by Riad Jarkas
* “Tareeq elnahel” by Henry Zgheib
* “AlRahbaniyoun wa Fairuz” by Jan Alexan
_________________________________
- Nouhad Wadih Haddad
- Known as Fairuz
- Born on November 21, 1935 (or 1932)
- The most important Arabic Diva
- The Wife of Assi Rahbany
- The mother of four:
1- Ziad Rahbany
2- Layal Rahbany
3- Haley Rahbany
4- Rima Rahbany
- The REAL symbol of Lebanon
- The Only Diva who refused to leave Lebanon during war
- The one who received so much medals & decorations from all over the world
- The one who sang for countries and never for politicians
- The only thing or person, ALL Lebanese agreed on loving during war
- The Diva who has more than 1000 song
- The Diva who sang all over the world
- The person who dreamed of becoming a teacher and became a school
- The one who refused to sing in Lebanon during war
- The Lebanese Diva who has the biggest number of sold CDs (old and new)
- The Only Diva who has her songs aired on all Lebanese radio stations at least
once a day
- Lebanon's HEART, and the Lebanese's Soul, she's simply our and only Fairuz.
(Jamal Bakri)
- Awe inspiring in the majority of aspects in life. (Ali)
- Lebanon's Treasure (Unknown)
- My Homeland (Jar el Amar)
- Lebanon's Spirit (Fady)
- My ambrosia (Wa'el)
- Not... (Dary)
_________________________________
1957
Cavalier Order Medal of Honour, awarded by Lebanese President Camille Chamoun.
1962
Order of Merit, awarded by Lebanese President Fouad Chehab.
1963
1. Medal of Honour, awarded by King Hussein of Jordan.
2. Order of Cedars, awarded by Lebanese President Fouad Chehab.
1967
Order of Merit First Class, awarded by Syrian President Nureddin al-Atassi.
1968
Key to the Holy City, awarded by Jerusalem Cultural Committee.
1969
Memorial Lebanese Stamp, issued by the Lebanese Government.
1970
Legion of Honour, awarded by Lebanese President Suleiman Frangieh.
1975
Gold Medal of Honour, awarded by King Hussein of Jordan.
1988
Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, awarded by French President François
Mitterrand.
1997
1. Highest Artistic Distinction, awarded by Tunisian President Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali.
2. Jerusalem Award, awarded by the Jerusalem Culture and Arts Committee.
1998
1. Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, awarded by French President Jacques Chirac.
2. Highest Distinction, awarded by King Hussein of Jordan.
2005
Honorary Doctorate from the American University of Beirut.
_________________________________
That Fairuz’s ambition was to become a school teacher?
That Fairuz hated mathematics with passion at school and still has no mastery
over the multiplication table till this day?
That her first salary at the Lebanese radio station as a chorus girl was 100
Lebanese Liras (before tax)?
That Fairuz sang a duet with Halim Al Rumi called “A’asheq al ward” in 1950?
That when Assi Rahbany was introduced to Fairuz by Halim Al Rumi, he had
reservations about Fairuz’s voice? He was of the opinion that it was not
suitable for western music. He was soon to discover the unusual capabilities in
her voice though.
That Mansour Rahbani, in the beginning, did not think that Fairuz was the right
voice for the Rahbany Brothers’ new musical style? He later admitted that he was
dead wrong and that he did not have Assi’s foresight in the matter.
That the first song Assi composed for Fairuz was “Habbatha ya ghurobe” of Qublan
Moukarzel’s words? That was in the early 50’s.
That contrary to the general belief, Fairuz and Assi were not married in 1954.
They were married on the 23rd of January 1955.
That Fairuz deliberately missed her flight home from Los Angeles once in order
to buy her disabled son, Hali, an electric wheelchair when she saw a lady at the
airport driving such one?
That Fairuz’s mother passed away suddenly on the same day Fairuz recorded the
song “Ya jarat alwadi”?
That little Rima in the film “Bint Elhares” is none other than Rima, Fairuz’s
youngest daughter?
That on her trips abroad, Fairuz rarely leaves her hotel room out of fear of
falling ill and having to disappoint her fans?
That when King Hassan of Morocco came to show his appreciation after a concert
Fairuz held in “Aldar Albaydaa”, he found himself innocently offered a candy
(bonbon) by Fairuz from a bag to Assi’s Mansour’s and Sabri Alsharif’s
astonishment? But the king gracefully put his hand out and took one from her.
That in Tunis, Habib Borqiba couldn’t help giving Fairuz a hug and telling her
“You are dearer to me than my own daughters”? He did that despite the fact that
Fairuz declined to hold a private concert for him when he visited in Lebanon in
the early sixties.
That when Fairuz sang “Shatti ya dinyi” in Brazil, it started raining suddenly
after years of draught?
That on the last night of presenting “Natouret Almafateeh” in Damascus in 1972,
Fairuz went on stage heavily medicated because she contracted a bad case of the
flue? She finished the presentation like the champ she is.
That when Assi was hospitalized in 1972 after suffering a stroke, Fairuz was
hospitalized at the same hospital to recuperate from exhaustion? When she was
finally informed of Assi’s ailment, she came to his room and left two Holy Books
under his pillow: A Bible and a Koran.
That for her first appearance in Baalbeck in 1957, Fairuz was paid the only 1
Lebanese Lira?
That the song “Habbaytak Bissayf”, contrary to the general belief, was composed
by the Rahbany Brothers originally? It was later sung in French, not the other
way around.
That Fairuz insisted on applying her own make-up? She was not satisfied with the
work of the professionals who tried to change her features to an extent that she
herself couldn’t recognize herself in the mirror.
That at one of the presentations of Hala wal malek at the Piccadelli theater,
she continued to sing by candle light when the electricity was suddenly cut off?
That while entering the stage during one of her concerts in Damascus, her dress
was caught and torn? She did not hesitate a moment. She gathered the torn dress
in her hand and continued towards the microphone and sang to the delight of the
audience which paid no attention to the torn dress.
That Fairuz visited Um Kulthoum and paid her respects at every chance she got?
The two shared a very warm friendship which was not publicized.
That when Ziad was born, Fairuz thought he was an ugly baby! The French
physician who delivered him assured her that his features speak of a future
artist and that there is no need to be upset. He was right of course.
That she named her daughter Rima after Rima of Biyyaa’ Elkhawatem? Fairuz has a
special place for Biyyaa’ Elkhawatem in her heart and considers it to be a very
important milestone in her career.
_________________________________
1. November 21, 1935: Nuhad Haddad, later to be named Fairuz, was born.
2. December 1946: Nuhad joins the conservatoire under the care of Muhammed
Fleifel .
3. 1949: Nuhad is hired as a chorus girl at the Lebanese Radio Station.
4. 1950: Nuhad sings her first solo song “Tarakt qalbi w tawee’t hubbak”
composed by Halim Al Rumi.
5. 1950: Fairuz meets Assi Rahbani for the first time. The meeting was arranged
by Halim Al Rumi.
6. 1952: “Itab” establishes Fairuz as a major singer in the Arab world.
7. 1955: Fairuz and Assi get married on January 23rd.
8. 1955: Fairuz sings “Rajioun” as a gift to Palestine and its people.
9. 1956: Fairuz gives birth to her first son, Ziad, on the first day of the
year.
10. 1957: Fairuz holds her first concert. It was in Damascus where she sang
“Barada” of Bshara Alkhouri’s words.
11. 1957: Al-istehkak al-Loubnani Honor awarded her at the time of President
Kameel Shamo’un (The highest honor ever awarded a Lebanese artist)
12. 1958: Fairuz gives birth to her second son, Hali.
13. 1960: Fairuz gives birth to her first daughter, Layal.
14. 1964: Mohammad Abdelwahab attends her Al-Arz concert to hear the song he
composed for her “Sakana Allayl”
15. 1965: Fairuz gives birth to her youngest daughter, Rima.
16. 1965: “Biyyaa’ Elkhawatem”, Fairuz’s first movie was filmed.
17. 1972: Fairuz sings at the Carnegie Hall, New-York.
18. 1975: Commemorable stamps with Fairuz’s image on them were released in
Lebanon.
19. 1979: The last concert seen of Assi & Fairuz together (Olympia-Paris)
20. 1979: “Wahdoun” her first album for Ziad was released.
21. 1987: Fairuz holds the largest concert ever in the Gulf Region in Bahrain.
22. 1988: Fairuz holds the biggest concert ever held by an Arab singer abroad in
Bercy-France. It was attended by 15,000 people.
23. 1997: Fairuz receives a medal of arts for the second time from France.
24. August 1998: Fairuz returns to Baalbak after 24 years of absence for a
3-night performance of selected parts of 4 of her plays in collaboration with
Mansour and Elias Rahbany.
25. 1999: The International Red Cross chooses Fairuz as the Arab Ambassador to
the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention. She sang “Alardhu lakum” there
instead of giving a speech.
26. 1999: Fairuz sings for an audience of 15,000 in Las Vegas.
27. 2000: Fairuz holds a 3-night concert at Beiteddine with her son Ziad. The
third night was described as a night of a life-time.
28. April 2002: Fairuz holds a concert in Dubai dedicating it to the Palestinian
cause in light of the recent happenings in the West Bank. The proceeds of the
concert were channeled for the establishment of a center for the autistic
children of Dubai.
29. February 2005: Fairuz sings in Canada, and releases a single song called:
Bayti Zghir Bi Canada, written by her daughter Rima Rahbany.
30. December 2006: Fairuz performed on the BIEL stage a remake of “Sah Ennom”
rearranged by Ziad Rahbany.
31. 2008: Fairuz performs on stage in Damascus in front of the syrian public,
while some lebanese sides were asking her not to perform in front of Lebanon’s
“jailers”, to prove once again that she sings for the people not for the rulers.
_______________________________________
Likes:
Songs:
* At the very beginning of her career, when Fairuz was interviewed for the
position of a chorus girl at the Lebanese Radio Station, she chose to sing the
following songs:
1.Ya dirati of Asmahan
2.Ya zahratan fi khayali of Fareed Elatrash
She was also a fan of Layla Murad as reported by many sources.
* In a rare interview granted to the program “Albath Almubasher” on the Lebanese
radio station, Fairuz was asked about her favorites songs done by Assi, Mansour,
Ziad, Philemon Wehbi, Nasri Shamseddine, Wadie’ Elsafi and Mohammed Abdelwahab.
Her answers were as follows:
Assi: Tareeq Elnahel
Mansour: Lamlamtu thikra liqaa alaams
Ziad: Saalouni Elnass
Wadi’e Elsafi: Ana w halbeer
Mohammed Abdelwahab: S’har baad s’har
Philemon Wehbi: Qasida dhaheka (?)
Nasri Shamseddine: Waynak, khalli sowtak ytammenni (from Ayyam Fakhreddin)
* In another interview with Jan Alexan held in Damascus in 1976, she was again
asked about some of her favorite songs. She mentioned the following:
Muhammad Abdelwahab: Alnahr alkhaled
Umm Kulthoum: Inta umri
People: (Unless otherwise specified, the following quotes were taken from the
same interview mentioned above)
Assi Rahbany: “Assi and Mansour are as similar as two rain drops. They are
geniuses in poetry and music. In his art, Assi offers no compromises. He is a
dictator, first upon himself before being a dictator upon others. There is a
blessing in his dictatorship called “doubt”. Doubt that contributes much in the
process of creating artistic beauty. Thus, we can say that Assi loves “the
difficult” which brings about what is new and simple. His comfort in art is
great because his suffering is great as well. Many come close to the river, but
Assi is closer to the spring itself”.
Mansour: “An old saying makes use of the term “Two faces of a Dinar”. Mansour is
the other face of the Rahbany Dinar. The most beautiful poetry I sang was
composed by Mansour, of whom I say he is a happiness running away towards
childhood. The farther he runs, the longer becomes the road. Thus, his great
worry gives poetry as well as it gives music”.
Ziad: “An artistic genius which takes its features from his opinions about life,
man, land, country and people. Ziad is akin to a camera which takes pictures of
things others do not see …… He possesses the ability to observe things very
keenly and accurately, as well as the gift of understanding how the different
elements of the universe interact with each other. Everything in life has a
sarcastic side to it. Ziad’s power lies in his ability to capture this sardonic
side, because he has a deep understanding of the tragic side to this…”.
From another interview given in Paris 1988: “Ziad is the artist of the future.
He is my son and my protective shield”.
From an additional interview published in Almajallah in 1988: “When I sing for
Ziad, I sing for a great artist. If the Arabic has a future, it is Ziad. Ziad is
not great because he is my son. True, he grew up in my and Assi’s house, but who
can impart genius on another person?”.
Umm Kulthoum: “The matron of Arabic song”.
Sabah: “A respected personality in art, and a beautiful voice”.
Mohammad Abdelwahab: “The artist with the most respect for science, and the
hardest worker for the sake of the song”.
Wadi’e Elsafi: “A gold mine”.
In another interview with Jan Alexan in 1976, she said: “He is the mountain
eagle..”
Nasri Shamseddine: “An exceptional voice, and a very loyal companion”.
Philemon Wehbi: “Sheikh alughniya alshaa’biyya”
Hali (her disabled son): “Nour ele’in w habibi” (From an interview published in
Alshabaka in 1990)
Huda (her sister): “She is a very sensitive artist… a good person… a
hard-working singer… she has a beautiful presence on stage and on screen, and
she is blessed with a very warm voice”. (from an interview with Jan Alexan in
1976)
Her grandmother: She used to spend her vacations from school at her favorite
place, her grandmother’s house helping her with the house-work at day and
listening to her stories at night to the lantern light. (Fairuz, Almutriba
walmishwar by Riadh Jarkas).
Places:
Lebanon: “My greatest love”.
From an interview given in 1994 prior to her concert in London: “Lebanon is my
greatest concern, it is my homeland, my fate and my destiny”.
Baalbeck: “The best and most beautiful years were the years we worked at
Baalbeck… Baalbeck is an important historical place to begin with… A song up
there dons a different feeling to it… Being at Baalbeck is important… It adds to
the art, it gives of itself, adds to and inspires. A person there feels he is in
a place full of people, full of beauty and history… This by itself enriches art
and existence”.(From an interview with Frederick Mitterand)
Things:
Dolls and stuffed animals: as witnessed by a personal friend of hers (published
in Alhawadeth in 1988) who found Fairuz’s bed occupied by a collection of
stuffed animals (Giraffe, cat, mouse, elephant, Mickey Mouse and a clown)
Flowers: From “Fairuz, Almutriba walmishwar” by Riadh Jarkas.
In the same interview with Jan Alexan in 1976, Fairuz said that her favorite
flowers were: Jasmines, Gardenias and tulips.
_______________________________________
Songs:
“Amara ya amara” as reported by Ziad in one of his interviews.
Things:
The telephone: “The telephone is a big problem. Many people have nothing better
to do. I broke it twice, and no one bothered to change the number for me” (from
an interview published in Alshabaka in 1990).
Press interviews: “I rarely give interviews to the press because you can not
always trust the one you are talking with. You don’t know who he is or how he
may change whatever you say to suit himself” (From an interview after her
concert in Bahrain in 1987)
Her bigger than life image: “ … I long to break this patriarchal reverence which
mystifies and scares me, this cast I find myself enclosed in and this symbol I
have become made people refuse my death at the finale of Jibal Elsowwan. I
became a prisoner in this cast, like a circus performer who walks a tight rope
trying not to fall down…”
Arithmetics: She still doesn’t know the multiplication table by heart (Fairuz,
Almutriba walmishwar by Riadh Jarkas).
Fairuz admitted her intense dislike of mathematics in a biographical publication
done by Nazek Basila in 1973 in the magazine “Alu’sbou’ Alarabi”.
Listen to her chide the school teacher in “Almahatta” about him making things so
complex, they become as incomprehensible as the multiplication table.
Do not bother looking for names of people or singers under this heading. Fairuz
never spoke ill of anyone.