Umm Kulthum: Artistic Agency and the Shaping of an Arab Legend, 1967-2007
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Umm Kulthum: Artistic Agency and the Shaping of an Arab Legend, 1967-2007
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Overview
How an extraordinary woman shaped her career and legacy through war
In 1967 Egypt and the Arab world suffered a devastating defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War. Though long past the age at which most singers would have retired, the sexagenarian Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum launched a multifaceted response to the defeat that not only sustained her career, but also expanded her international fame and shaped her legacy. By examining biographies, dramas, monuments, radio programming practices, and recent recordings, Laura Lohman delves into Umm Kulth m's role in fashioning her image and the conflicting ways that her image and music have been interpreted since her death in 1975.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780819570734 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Wesleyan University Press |
| Publication date: | 12/13/2022 |
| Series: | Music / Culture |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 256 |
| File size: | 5 MB |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
"A New Umm Kulthum"
* * *
To understand the particular reverence that Umm Kulthum has been accorded in the decades after her death, one must first explore the details and context of her public life in 1967. The landmark event of that year was the defeat of Egypt — along with Syria and Jordan — in the Six-Day War, a rapid defeat that precipitated a lasting psychological, economic, and military crisis. Amid this crisis, Umm Kulthum was unable to continue giving three-hour concerts of romantic songs as she had done before the war. Retirement offered one alternative. Yet once she had actually been blamed by some for the defeat (Danielson 1997, 185), the implications of retirement would have cast a pall over her otherwise illustrious career and damaged her image. She rejected both retirement and the continuation of her career as before, instead constructing a new role for herself in the years ahead. She used press statements, charitable efforts, and propaganda work to refashion herself as an artist of new, vital importance to Egypt in its time of need. Remarkably, she not only sustained her career but also developed a strategy to fulfill previously made commitments abroad that had been designed to advance her career and expand her international fame.
Umm Kulthum, like other artists, demonstrated the political value of music in times of crisis. Examples abound from the perspective of mid-twentieth-century America. The U.S. State Department dispatched jazz and rhythm and blues musicians overseas in tours designed to counteract the country's racist image, which was poised to push newly independent states abroad into alliance with the Soviet Union. Though placed in horrid conditions and largely ignored by embassy officials, these artists helped achieve the State Department's goal of changing attitudes about the United States: of the various tours held between 1956 and 1969, audiences abroad were particularly impressed to see Dizzy Gillespie leading an interracial band (Monson 2007, 107–108, 117, 119). While these U.S. efforts were aimed at achieving political goals abroad, Umm Kulthum's addressed political problems at home. She performed songs expressing varied sentiments for different purposes. This was not all that different from the use of country songs in the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Artists on the NBC Radio Network's National Barn Dance presented songs designed to "inspire, motivate, and console a nation at war" (Daniel 2005, 92). Likewise, Umm Kulthum's performances celebrated a victory that never would be achieved, supported a troubled leader, and reaffirmed religious faith, as many Korean War–era country songs did (Tribe 2005, 128–30, 137–38). Ultimately, following the defeat, her songs shifted in tone, much like country songs shifted from "smug self-confidence" to somber self-reflection once the American public realized that World War II would be a long haul (Wolfe 2005, 31).
As Umm Kulthum went on to develop her public role as a fundraiser and leader of social and welfare campaigns in 1967, she adopted a stance like that of many U.S. musicians during World War II. Radio singer Kate Smith and the hillbilly and western entertainers in the National Barn Dance used their renown to spur public participation in nationwide war bond and stamp drives (Merton 1946). Admission to the cross-country National Barn Dance shows was granted through the purchase of a war bond or donation of materials that were in short supply. National Barn Dance entertainers themselves toured the United States on behalf of the USO to provide social, welfare, and recreational service for members of the armed forces and their families. They also demonstrated practical ways of dealing with difficult wartime conditions. In traveling by bicycle and using carpools, National Barn Dance artists showed members of the public how to cope with the ban on the production of civilian vehicles (Daniel 2005, 87–92, 97).
While such efforts served government agendas, they also shaped artists' images. In a striking case of this phenomenon, Elvis Presley's charitable activities in 1961 reinforced careful media coverage of his military service to transform his rebellious image (Inglis 1996, 62–63). A closer parallel to Umm Kulthum is offered by Kate Smith, who led several all-day war bond drives during World War II. Public perception of Smith's sincerity, benevolence, and patriotism led Americans to respond in astonishing numbers to her marathon appeals, while her participation demonstrated that a public entertainer could acquire the traits of a moral leader (Merton 1946, 76, 82). Intensive interviews conducted shortly after Smith's bond drive on September 21, 1943, offered Robert Merton unusually specific insights into public perceptions of an artist engaged in a public campaign. While no similar study was conducted following Umm Kulthum's postwar campaign, the Smith study suggests several parallels. The physical demands of Smith's eighteen-hour marathon of appeals, her efforts to cast herself as one of the "plain folk," and her humility underscored perceptions of sincerity. Guided by these cues, listeners interpreted Smith's efforts as acts of selflessness rather than attempts to gain publicity and enhance her own reputation (Merton 1946, 86, 90, 98–99, 155). Umm Kulthum's campaign would be framed in a similar way, as the media stressed her extraordinary work ethic and her status as an ordinary citizen. As a result, despite initially having been blamed by some for the 1967 defeat, by year's end she emerged as the shining example of a patriotic artist willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of her country.
The defeat that stunned Egypt and the Arab world in 1967 was the product of decades of international turmoil. In 1917, Britain pledged to facilitate the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine, and the Jewish community swelled through waves of immigration. In 1947, a United Nations resolution outlined the establishment of two states, one Arab and one Jewish, but such a partition was foiled by ensuing Palestinian-Jewish violence. After alternative solutions had been rejected, the Jewish leadership declared independence in 1948, and the Arab-Israeli war of that year led to a Palestinian exodus, a solid Jewish majority, and an Israeli gain of 30 percent more territory than specified in the UN resolution. Territories intended to be part of the Arab Palestinian state were annexed by Jordan and occupied by Egypt. The General Armistice Agreements of 1949, which opened the door to Arabs to renew hostilities at will, only perpetuated the conflict.
Within Egypt, President Jamal 'Abd al-Nasir kept the Palestinian issue "in the icebox" in the early 1950s, downplaying the conflict with Israel while supporting a moderate level of Palestinian guerilla activity. He intensified his support for the guerillas beginning in the mid-1950s. In 1956, 'Abd al-Nair nationalized the Suez Canal, spurring the Tripartite Aggression, during which Israeli forces — supported by the French and British — gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza, and the Straits of Tiran. Replacing them in the next year was the United Nations Emergency Force, stationed along the Egypt-Israel border in Sinai, in Gaza, and in Sharm al-Shaykh. Turbulent inter-Arab relations in subsequent years swung from divisiveness toward cooperation in 1964. The Cairo summit of that year established the United Arab Command, which was aimed at strengthening Arab military efforts and redeeming Palestine.
Tensions along Israel's borders increased in the mid-1960s. In November 1966, Israel attacked Palestinian villages near Hebron in retaliation for aiding the Palestinian nationalist movement Fatah. Although Israel's move had been intended as a warning to its neighbors, Syrian tanks responded by shelling a kibbutz over the border in January 1967. As border incidents escalated and relations among Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian leaders deteriorated, the Soviet Union repeatedly warned that Israeli troops were massing on the northern border with Syria. In early spring, Syrian sponsorship of Palestinian guerilla attacks on Israel prompted a miniwar. Soviet leaders reasserted their warnings, advising former vice president Anwar al-Sadat that Israel intended to invade Syria between May 16 and 22 to topple the Ba'th Party leadership.
'Abd al-Nasir, criticized by Arab leaders for his inaction during Israel's previous reprisals following guerilla attacks, could not sit idly by this time. Although the Egyptian army and air force were stretched thin due to a protracted conflict in Yemen and spending constraints, Egyptian troops were directed to cross the Sinai Peninsula in mid-May. Their conspicuous movements simultaneously suggested a lack of aggressive Egyptian intent and an intolerance for Israeli aggression against Syria. Independence Day celebrations diverted the attention of ordinary Israelis and their leaders from the impending crisis. Egyptian troop buildup continued, rousing fears that Egypt had designs on the Dimona nuclear reactor, and Israel turned to the long-planned Operation Focus as it prepared to take preemptive action.
Meanwhile, 'Abd al-Nasir ignored evidence that Israeli troops had, in fact, not gathered near the Syrian border, knowing that withdrawal of his Egyptian troops from Sinai would bring untenable humiliation whereas continued buildup would enhance his standing. The growing crisis provided Egypt with the opportunity to satisfy a long-standing desire to expel the United Nations Emergency Force. As national and international tensions mounted, 'Abd al-Nasir closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, providing Israel with a casus belli. Military maneuvers shifted from political to strategic in nature. Arab armies were activated in Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. Egyptian field marshal 'Abd al-Hakim 'Amir implemented an offensive operation, codenamed Dawn, which was quickly canceled upon its discovery by the Israelis. At the same time, U.S. appeals halted Israel's own preemptive attack.
Although both Israel and Egypt had momentarily decided not to make the first strike, a series of portentous, rapidly unfolding events brought war ever closer. On the Arab side, military contingents from Morocco, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia were sent to the Sinai Peninsula. Amid repeated American pleas for restraint, leaders of the Israel Defense Forces continued to call up reserves. Jordan's King ussayn hurried to align himself with 'Abd al-Nasir, ordering tanks across the Jordan River near Jericho and signing a mutual defense treaty with Egypt that paralleled one signed by Syria and Egypt in 1966. The Jordanian king's moves increased pressure on Israel to fight. An impending sense of catastrophe pervaded Israel, and international public support swelled as the country faced a multifront attack from Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.
As Egypt moved closer to war during the last week in May, Umm Kulthum provided financial and moral support. She promised special benefit concerts for the armed forces and donated £E 5,000 to the war effort ("Umm Kulthum tatabarra'" 1967). She increasingly exercised the political approach she had adopted in the early 1960s (Danielson 1997, 165). Her low, determined voice resonated through the radio airwaves, assuring soldiers in Sinai, "I am with you, with the millions, in the appointment with victory," followed by one of seven spoken appeals that she had cowritten ("Nida'at" 1967; 'A iyah 1967). In one such appeal, she predicted an Arab liberation of Palestine, achieved under Egyptian leadership:
Our fearless soldiers, when you were on the way to the borders, the past fortified me. I saw her — a young girl trembling with fear and terror under the bullets of the enemy. I saw him say, "Tomorrow, that could be my daughter." You know the girl. The girl is Palestine. And you know the man — our man, Jamal 'Abd al-Nasir. Where is this girl today, to hear his voice calling you to her? God will help you as long as you help her ("Sab'a nida'at" 1967).
Umm Kulthum fed an overconfidence common among the Egyptian public and military leadership. She stressed 'Abd al-Nasir's past victories and predicted another, declaring in one interview: "I myself will sing in Tel Aviv this year!" ("Rajul al-shari'" 1967; al-Bandari 1967). Just four days before the outbreak of the war, she opened her regular monthly concert with a new patriotic song that boosted confidence and enthusiasm across the region. During the live broadcast, radio announcer Jalal Mu'awwud framed the concert by stressing the coordinated participation of multinational forces under Egyptian leadership. In his portrayal, "The Arabs stand as one to face the one enemy, to confront Israel and those who stand behind Israel. ... The Arab armies stand under a united leadership ... to return with armed force the claim of the Arab Palestinian people to the land of Arab Palestine" ("Allah Ma'ak" 1967). Though marred by uncharacteristic errors in performance because the song had been arranged quickly, the premiere of "Allah Ma'ak" ("God Is with You") stirred listeners enough to be described as "an atomic bomb that unleashed the feelings of the masses in the region from the gulf to the ocean" ("Ughniyat Umm Kulthum" 1967). Opening with driving eighth notes in the timpani and a rapid ascent and descent through the bright jaharkah mode (similar to the major mode), the song quickly captured the audience's attention. The male chorus intensified the energy of the performance with aggressive upward leaps and crisp dotted rhythms. With triplets that were lyrical by contrast, Umm Kulthum assured the joined forces, "Army of Arabness, God is with you." Proceeding by rising melodic sequence, her declamation accentuated the superlative description of the armed forces, and built tension as she invoked the anticipated liberation of Palestine. The verse drew strong cheers from those in the hall, as did nearly every other verse of the song ("Allah Ma'ak" 1967).
Umm Kulthum nourished this feverish atmosphere by programming two religious songs, rather than two romantic songs, as the second and third selections. The "surprise" song she had promised turned out to be "Salu Qalbi," which had fallen out of her repertory after its premiere two decades earlier. A mad Shawqi's text commemorating the Prophet's birth contained the potent lines "Demands are not met by wishing; the world can only be taken by struggle." In the 1940s, these lines had been heard as a nationalist motto expressing dissatisfaction with the British presence in Egypt and with King Faruq (Danielson 1997, 113–14). Now they were reframed by Jalal Mu'awwud's introductory comments as a call for immediate action to reclaim Palestinian land, and Umm Kulthum's audience demanded numerous repetitions of this climactic line ("Salu Qalbi" 1967). She ended the concert with a recent song, " adith al-Ru ," and its lines intensified faith in the outcome of the impending war: "Who began to shout your name before us? Who invoked the One, the Subduer? ... We declare publicly, there is no God except He who created existence and the fate of fates." The enthusiastic response from the audience underscored the importance of faith and fate that Umm Kulthum had articulated through "Allah Ma'ak" (" adith al-Ru " 1967). Her unusual but timely program prompted the invigorated audience to denounce imperialism and urge the nation's armed forces to victory (Farghalá 1967). Their response resonated throughout Egypt as the concert was broadcast on television (Darwish 1967).
As Umm Kulthum stoked popular expectations of victory, plans for a military offensive military were canceled just days after being implemented. Assurances of victory and invincibility masked the chaos that would soon unfold in Sinai (Oren 2002, 93, 159). Unwilling to draw international rebuke for striking first, Egypt ultimately fell victim to an Israeli air offensive honed through several years of planning. Within just three hours on the morning of June 5, Israeli jets destroyed the Egyptian air force by targeting both runways and parked aircraft. Lacking air cover and saddled by inefficient communication, the Egyptian army suffered a crushing defeat during the next four days.
Aftermath
The public mood was subjected to dramatic shifts after the cease-fire was declared. Initially boosted by false reports of military successes, Arabs were shocked and dismayed by the regime's surrender. Egyptians secretly called 'Abd al-Nair al-wahsh (the beast), Algerians shouted "Traitor!" and attacked the Egyptian embassy, and protestors in Tunis set fire to the Egyptian cultural center. Yet the next day, June 9, brought an entirely different response. When 'Abd al-Nasir announced his resignation in a live television broadcast, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians swept into the street shouting, "Don't leave us!" Demonstrators also filled Beirut's streets, while a hospital in the Libyan capital admitted dozens of people with "their bodies rigid in a hypnotic trauma." Across the region, Arabs suffered pronounced physical and psychological symptoms as a result of the defeat, and many Egyptians in particular remained dazed for weeks (Farid 1994, 103; Hussein 1977, 25).
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Umm Kulthum"
by .
Copyright © 2010 Laura Lohman.
Excerpted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.
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Table of Contents
List of IllustrationsAcknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Chronology
Introduction
“A New Umm Kulth m”
For Country or Self?
Sustaining a Career, Shaping a Legacy
From Artist to Legend
Mother of Egypt or Erotic Partner?
An Evolving Heritage
Epilogue
Notes
References
Index
What People are Saying About This
“This extraordinary work is solidly rooted in a meticulous reading and interpretation of primary Arabic sources. At all times culturally sensitive and respectful, Lohman is nevertheless unafraid to critique dominant legends and hagiographies. This groundbreaking volume pushes research on Umm Kulthum, Arab music, and Arab society in important new directions.”
“Laura Lohman’s study on Umm Kulthum establishes nuanced and well-thought out correlations between the legendary singer’s social and political activism, in light of the complex world in which she lived, particularly later in her professional career, and the various cultural discourses that defined her distinguished and enduring popular image. Richly documented and succinctly written, this book presents a remarkable example of how an individual artist creates her path to stardom.”
"Laura Lohman's study on Umm Kulthum establishes nuanced and well-thought out correlations between the legendary singer's social and political activism, in light of the complex world in which she lived, particularly later in her professional career, and the various cultural discourses that defined her distinguished and enduring popular image. Richly documented and succinctly written, this book presents a remarkable example of how an individual artist creates her path to stardom."—A. J. Racy, Ph.D., author of Making Music in the Arab World: The Culture and Artistry of Tarab
"It is impossible to understand Arab culture since 1967 without a firm grasp of this remarkable individual and the media institutions that grew up around her in Egypt. This accomplished book focuses on the legacy of Umm Kulthūm at a crucial moment in modern Middle Eastern history.""—Martin Stokes, St. John's College, Oxford
"This extraordinary work is solidly rooted in a meticulous reading and interpretation of primary Arabic sources. At all times culturally sensitive and respectful, Lohman is nevertheless unafraid to critique dominant legends and hagiographies. This groundbreaking volume pushes research on Umm Kulthum, Arab music, and Arab society in important new directions.""—Michael Frishkopf, editor of Music and Media in the Arab World
“It is impossible to understand Arab culture since 1967 without a firm grasp of this remarkable individual and the media institutions that grew up around her in Egypt. This accomplished book focuses on the legacy of Umm Kulth m at a crucial moment in modern Middle Eastern history.”