Farid El Atrache
| Farid al-Atrash فريد الأطرش |
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Farid al-Atrash
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| Background information | |
| Born |
October 19, 1910 Al-Suwayda, Vilayet of Syria, Ottoman Empire |
| Origin | As-Suwayda, Syria |
| Died | December 26, 1974 (aged 64) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Genres | Arabic, Egyptian classical, instrumental |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor, composer, instrumentalist |
| Instruments | Singing, oud |
| Years active | 1930s–1974 |
| Associated acts | Asmahan |
| Website | www |
Farid al-Atrash (Arabic: فريد الأطرش; October 19, 1910 – December 26, 1974), also written Farid Elattrache, was a Syrian composer, singer, virtuoso oud player. Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of nine years old with his mother and siblings childhood, Al-Atrash embarked on a highly successful career spanning more than four decades—recording 500 songs and starring in 31 movies. Sometimes referred to as "King of the Oud", he is one of the most important figures of 20th century Arab music.
Al-Atrash was born in al-Suwayda, in southern Syria to the Druze al-Atrash family who fought the French colonial army. His father was Syrian and his mother was Lebanese. As a child, al-Atrash emigrated with his mother and siblings to Egypt, escaping the French occupation. Later, they were naturalized by the Egyptian government as citizens. Farid's mother sang and played the Oud, which spurred his musical interest at an early age.
As a child and young adult, al-Atrash sang in school events. He studied in a music conservatory and became an apprentice of the renowned composer Riyad as-Sunbaty. In the 1930s, al-Atrash began his professional singing career by working for privately owned Egyptian radio stations. Eventually, he was hired as an oud player for the national radio station and later as a singer. His sister, Asmahan, was also a talented singer, and for a while they worked together. In 1941, they starred in their first successful movie Intisar a l-Shabab (انتصار الشباب – The Triumph of Youth, 1941), in which Farid himself composed all the music. He died in December 26, 1974, at the age of 64.
Farid and his sister Amal, along with their brother Fou'ad, belonged to the religious minority clan of their parents, Princess Alia and Prince Fahd al-Atrash. (Asmar 1998)
His younger sister, Asmahan, evidenced similar musical talent in her teens, becoming one of the most popular female vocalists and cinema stars in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Farid is better known than Asmahan because her career was interrupted by her death in an accident in 1944. Yet he was initially overshadowed by his sister's talent and popularity. With maturity and the forging of a successful performance formula, Farid became famous in his own right. Even today, reference to the given name "Farid" in the context of
Arabic music or popular culture is immediately understood to denote al-Atrash himself. (Zuhur, 2003)
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