Nizar qabbani dvds
Also present is a poetry recital at Nizar Qabbani’s home in London, where he recounts his favorite works and says them to a limited audience of friends. Other works include a radio interview with Queen Farida of Egypt conducted after her husband King Farouk’s death in 1965, where she speaks of how difficult life was with the flamboyant royal.
![nizar qabbani dvds nizar qabbani dvds](https://middleeastrevised.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/tumblr_m8pqgm6d3u1qhmfleo1_500.jpg)
“I have got everything from his first speech on the July Revolution in 1952, through his nationalization of the Suez Canal speech in 1956, the union speech of 1958, the succession speech of 1961, and his resignation following the 1967 war.” Zaki points out a collection of Adolph Hitler’s speeches, in German, along with speeches by General Franco, Benito Mussolini, and a prized collection of everything Gamal Abdul Nasser ever said on radio. “I’ve got material other than just songs” Zaki added, “like speeches, plays, poetry recitals, debates, and interviews.”Īmong his treasures are a complete collection of Duraid Lahham’s plays unedited, as well as a complete collection of the Rahbani works. Other masterpieces include private concerts by Mohammed Abdul Wahab, rare recordings by Fairuz, forgotten shows by Asmahan, and concerts by George Wassouf when he was just a 10 year old singing at local parties in Zahle and Rashaya in Lebanon. He points to other rare performances he cherishes, including a private dinner with Abdulhalim Hafez recorded in Cairo, with Hafez playing the oud and singing, and a private concert by Abdulhalim in which he sings, for the first time, songs that are not his, especially those of Um Kulthoum. That concert, for example, is one of my prized possessions.” She obliged and sang with vigor, changing the tune at times to suit her own pace and going off the record with melodies that are so rare, that in fact, they are a musical treasure. “In the late 1940s, King Farouk threw a party and asked Um Kalhtoum to sing for him. “Naturally, these recordings were not available to the public, and kept at the central radio station in Cairo. “Some artists used to record private concerts, or sing in the presence of kings and heads of state,” he added. Some artists don’t even have copies of their own work and come to me to purchase what their music library lacks,” he said. “I have got recordings that are no longer available in most parts of the world. He worked at Damascus Radio for 10 years, then resigned, brought the station’s “music library” and opened his store Cham Dan in downtown Damascus. Zaki left the station after 20 years and headed for Damascus, taking along the entire collection of the Egyptian Broadcasting Station. He worked at the official radio station in Cairo in the 1940s and 1950s, when Arabic music was arguably at its grandest.
![nizar qabbani dvds nizar qabbani dvds](http://img.youtube.com/vi/DhC1ov2ur4A/hqdefault.jpg)
The store has been around for 40 years, and its owner has loved music for even longer.Īdel al-Zaki is a music lover in his early 70s who has been collecting songs “for as long as he can remember.” With pipe in hand, and eyes closed to “feel” the grandeur of the diva’s voice, he looks at you and says in an old-fashioned yet eloquent Damascene dialect, “Order me my dear sir, what can I do for you?” A very untidy and over-crowded collection of tapes and recordings surrounds him. Only those intending to visit the store make their way through its doors.īehind the counter, an old and joyful man listens to Um Kalthoum. Walking through the crowded Shaalan market in downtown Damascus, one sees numerous CD stores, selling DVDs, movies, and playing music by modern artists like Bon Jovi and Sting.Ī modern sight for an old-fashioned market, one wonders, then sees a small, worn-out wooden shop at the edge of a dark alley.