Post by lionking on Oct 6, 2008 6:18:56 GMT -4
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asmahan
Asmahan's originality and voice characteristics
Known for her wide vocal range, Asmahan's voice could cover the low notes and Oriental Modes and sub-modes to reach the upper Soprano measures this is shown in her song ya toyoor where she reaches a high A with ease and brio. Asmahan's voice could be seen as the mixture of two oriental divas'voices opposed in style and interpretation =Fairouz famous of her angelic tone of voice who was among the first to adopt the western (old Italian school of singing) singing method using a head resonance technique that is nearer to falsetto at a time where the nasal and chest resonance technique was reigning in the Arabic singing scene, and who despite the fact that her voice is hard to be classified between the mezzo-contralto(alto) and mezzo-soprano could reach high notes yet with less power than Asmahan but have a wide range of dynamics ranging from pianissimo to fortissimo from bottom to top, and Sabah (singer) who is famous for her powerful voice whose technique is similar to the American Broadway belting technique (belt (music)), alongside her phenomenal long breath where she can hold a high note for more than one minute.
Too much pressure (chest resonance technique) will deprive the singer from using a lot of dynamics as he will loose all the pianissimo and the bridge between the head and chest voices will be very difficult, not to mention that the legato line singing will be impossible and that the vocal range will shorten where the head register becomes weak. On the other hand the head voice technique( typical of the Western classical and operatic singing) will eliminate any chest resonance so the voice will become too sweet or artificial and consequently lose all the power and dramatic capacities required for the oriental Tarab genre
Asmahan's voice was so powerful that despite her heavy singing she was still able to use her head register and sing in a very controlled tone of voice a very demanding high pitched musical line with a very impressing and elegant Legato( the vocalization) in Ya touyour by Mohamed El Qasabgi and in a light color of voice (reaching a high A=LA) then return to sing the medium notes and reach the low register with the typical Arabic (nasal+chest) technique. Besides the fact that she was the first arabic singer to use the classical western technique, very few performers are able to alternate two opposed styles of interpretation and technique in one song.
Some say that Nahwand had similar vocal abilities as Asmahan. Another specialty about her talent was her strength of breath and its duration, accompanied by her ability to switch between various musical notes in one musical sentence, a talent only shared with Fairouz.
[edit] Role in World War II
In 1941, during World War II, she came back to Syria on a secret mission: to convince her people in Jabal el-Druze to allow the British and Free French forces to enter Syria through their territory without a fight (Syria was under the Vichy France rule back then). The British and Free French promised the independence of Syria in return, and the Druze agreed. After the allies secured Syria, General De Gaulle visited Sweida (the capital of Jabal el-Druze) where he met Asmahan, his successful messenger.
[edit] Death
On 14 July 1944, a car carrying Asmahan and a female friend of hers crashed into the River Nile after the driver lost control. Without a door on their side both ladies got stuck and drowned. Nevertheless, the driver managed to escape the tragic death.
Asmahan was always afraid of water. When she was young a gypsy told her just as she was born in water she would die in water.
These suspicious circumstances gave rise to many rumors and much controversy, comparable to that of Lady Diana. Tabloids were rife with conspiracy theories, pointing fingers everywhere. They accused the British intelligence - after many reports claiming she was working with them - of getting rid of her after she handed over some military information to the Germans. They also accused the German Gestapo of killing her for helping the British. And they even accused the prominent singer Oum Kulthoum of organizing her assassination to eliminate competition. It was widely reported and rumored that Oum Kulthoum had an unreasonable fear of Asmahan, knowing what she could achieve given the right circumstances, with her voice and captivating beauty.
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There was the series of her life on local TV in the month of Ramadan. I heard hat her voice was marvellous, but didn't expect anyone would have a voice that would get even compared to Fairuz's. I was stunned by the beauty of Asmahan's voice..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNU5pSEWFIg&feature=related
Asmahan came with her mother and brothers to Egypt after the french ordered the family's capture because the father worked with the resistance against the french and there were two french pilots captured, so he wanted to keep the family so that the resistance wouldn't kill the french pilots, which drove their mother to take them away ..
this was the last movie that she didn't finish because she died.. they later changed its ending. it was called: Love and Revenge
Asmahan, as you can read, dealt with the English Intelligence for the benefit of her country. There were many posibilities for he death though. It could have been the queen of Egypt who fought her all the time and stopped her legal papers if I remember well. I heard also that she asked Asmahan's ex-husband to come and take his wife from Egypt if he has an atom of honor.. other conspiracy theories include her being killed by Oum Kolthoum, because if Asmahan would have lived she would have broken the ground under everybody's feet. The most popular conspiracy theory was that it was the English intelligence because she refused to deal with them anymore after they didn't fullfill their promises to her to give Syria its independance.. her daughter says she asked her cousins , i.e asmahan's brothers and they said there were no deliberate murder for Asmahan, but many believe that she was told that because she was young then. Her death remains a mystery.
you can listen to other songs on you tube (athis is anotehr example): www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdMP4Yv_hFQ
the series has gained a wide debate with her family relatives in Syria refusing the way the series introduced her as breaking of the mountain traditions.. and threats of death were released .. her daughter has raised a case against the director of the series and issues are still on hot fire ...
Asmahan's originality and voice characteristics
Known for her wide vocal range, Asmahan's voice could cover the low notes and Oriental Modes and sub-modes to reach the upper Soprano measures this is shown in her song ya toyoor where she reaches a high A with ease and brio. Asmahan's voice could be seen as the mixture of two oriental divas'voices opposed in style and interpretation =Fairouz famous of her angelic tone of voice who was among the first to adopt the western (old Italian school of singing) singing method using a head resonance technique that is nearer to falsetto at a time where the nasal and chest resonance technique was reigning in the Arabic singing scene, and who despite the fact that her voice is hard to be classified between the mezzo-contralto(alto) and mezzo-soprano could reach high notes yet with less power than Asmahan but have a wide range of dynamics ranging from pianissimo to fortissimo from bottom to top, and Sabah (singer) who is famous for her powerful voice whose technique is similar to the American Broadway belting technique (belt (music)), alongside her phenomenal long breath where she can hold a high note for more than one minute.
Too much pressure (chest resonance technique) will deprive the singer from using a lot of dynamics as he will loose all the pianissimo and the bridge between the head and chest voices will be very difficult, not to mention that the legato line singing will be impossible and that the vocal range will shorten where the head register becomes weak. On the other hand the head voice technique( typical of the Western classical and operatic singing) will eliminate any chest resonance so the voice will become too sweet or artificial and consequently lose all the power and dramatic capacities required for the oriental Tarab genre
Asmahan's voice was so powerful that despite her heavy singing she was still able to use her head register and sing in a very controlled tone of voice a very demanding high pitched musical line with a very impressing and elegant Legato( the vocalization) in Ya touyour by Mohamed El Qasabgi and in a light color of voice (reaching a high A=LA) then return to sing the medium notes and reach the low register with the typical Arabic (nasal+chest) technique. Besides the fact that she was the first arabic singer to use the classical western technique, very few performers are able to alternate two opposed styles of interpretation and technique in one song.
Some say that Nahwand had similar vocal abilities as Asmahan. Another specialty about her talent was her strength of breath and its duration, accompanied by her ability to switch between various musical notes in one musical sentence, a talent only shared with Fairouz.
[edit] Role in World War II
In 1941, during World War II, she came back to Syria on a secret mission: to convince her people in Jabal el-Druze to allow the British and Free French forces to enter Syria through their territory without a fight (Syria was under the Vichy France rule back then). The British and Free French promised the independence of Syria in return, and the Druze agreed. After the allies secured Syria, General De Gaulle visited Sweida (the capital of Jabal el-Druze) where he met Asmahan, his successful messenger.
[edit] Death
On 14 July 1944, a car carrying Asmahan and a female friend of hers crashed into the River Nile after the driver lost control. Without a door on their side both ladies got stuck and drowned. Nevertheless, the driver managed to escape the tragic death.
Asmahan was always afraid of water. When she was young a gypsy told her just as she was born in water she would die in water.
These suspicious circumstances gave rise to many rumors and much controversy, comparable to that of Lady Diana. Tabloids were rife with conspiracy theories, pointing fingers everywhere. They accused the British intelligence - after many reports claiming she was working with them - of getting rid of her after she handed over some military information to the Germans. They also accused the German Gestapo of killing her for helping the British. And they even accused the prominent singer Oum Kulthoum of organizing her assassination to eliminate competition. It was widely reported and rumored that Oum Kulthoum had an unreasonable fear of Asmahan, knowing what she could achieve given the right circumstances, with her voice and captivating beauty.
There was the series of her life on local TV in the month of Ramadan. I heard hat her voice was marvellous, but didn't expect anyone would have a voice that would get even compared to Fairuz's. I was stunned by the beauty of Asmahan's voice..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNU5pSEWFIg&feature=related
Asmahan came with her mother and brothers to Egypt after the french ordered the family's capture because the father worked with the resistance against the french and there were two french pilots captured, so he wanted to keep the family so that the resistance wouldn't kill the french pilots, which drove their mother to take them away ..
this was the last movie that she didn't finish because she died.. they later changed its ending. it was called: Love and Revenge
Asmahan, as you can read, dealt with the English Intelligence for the benefit of her country. There were many posibilities for he death though. It could have been the queen of Egypt who fought her all the time and stopped her legal papers if I remember well. I heard also that she asked Asmahan's ex-husband to come and take his wife from Egypt if he has an atom of honor.. other conspiracy theories include her being killed by Oum Kolthoum, because if Asmahan would have lived she would have broken the ground under everybody's feet. The most popular conspiracy theory was that it was the English intelligence because she refused to deal with them anymore after they didn't fullfill their promises to her to give Syria its independance.. her daughter says she asked her cousins , i.e asmahan's brothers and they said there were no deliberate murder for Asmahan, but many believe that she was told that because she was young then. Her death remains a mystery.
you can listen to other songs on you tube (athis is anotehr example): www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdMP4Yv_hFQ
the series has gained a wide debate with her family relatives in Syria refusing the way the series introduced her as breaking of the mountain traditions.. and threats of death were released .. her daughter has raised a case against the director of the series and issues are still on hot fire ...