Umm Kulthum, the "voice of Egypt," was the most celebrated musical performer of the century in the
Arab world. More than twenty years after her death, her devoted audience, drawn from all strata of Arab society,
still numbers in the millions. Thanks to her skillful and pioneering use of mass media, her songs still permeate
the international airwaves. In the first English-language biography of Umm Kulthum, Virginia Danielson chronicles
the life of a major musical figure and the confluence of artistry, society, and creativity that characterized her
remarkable career.
Danielson examines the careful construction of Umm Kulthum's phenomenal popularity and success in a society that
discouraged women from public performance. From childhood, her mentors honed her exceptional abilities to accord
with Arab and Muslim practice, and as her stature grew, she remained attentive to her audience and the public reception
of her work. Ultimately, she created from local precendents and traditions her own unique idiom and developed original
song styles from both populist and neo-classical inspirations. These were enthusiastically received, heralded as
crowning examples of a new, yet authentically Arab-Egyptian, culture. Danielson shows how Umm Kulthum's music and
public personality helped form popular culture and contributed to the broader artistic, societal, and political
forces that surrounded her.
This richly descriptive account joins biography with social theory to explore the impact of the individual virtuoso
on both music and society at large while telling the compelling story of one of the most famous musicians of all
time.
Table of Contents
Preface
Technical Note
1: "The Voice and Face of Egypt"
2: Childhood in the Egyptian Delta
3: Beginning in Cairo
4: Media, Style, and Idiom
5: "The Golden Age of Umm Kulthum" and Two Cultural Formations
6: "The Voice of Egypt": The Artists' Work and Shared Aesthetics
7: Umm Kulthum and a New Generation
Legacies of a Performer
Glossary
Notes
References
Sources for the Illustrations
Index