Damascus-SANA
Art in Syria grew during the first half of the last century under the dominance of its counterpart in Egypt. The Egyptian school and dialect were corrupted in theater performances and songs until Syrian art had two great names that gave this creativity its local identity, the first of them being Abdel Latif Fathi on stage, and the second of Omar Halabi in the field of singing.
It was known about the great late Omar Halabi that he was the poet and knight of the Syrian song, and he was the one who dedicated himself to developing the word and making the colloquial dialect used in singing close to feelings and addressing hearts.
Halabi, who was born in the Al-Qaymariya neighborhood of Damascus in 1921, obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Damascus University and worked as a teacher of Arabic at Al-Muhsiniya Secondary School, then left teaching and became an employee in public relations at the university until his retirement in 1981.
The song was in Syria in the
first half of the
last century before Omar Halabi writes in the
Egyptian dialect that met the
great artist of the
late Rafiq Shukri in one evening and
said to
him ,
"Why do not you write accent your country ,
" and here was born the
first song
Bafila Jamal Sari "sung by
Shukri in 1942 Since that date, Halabi has worked to lay the foundations for the development of contemporary Syrian song to be independent and beautiful.
After the song "Balfla Jamal Sari", which Halabi described in one of the press interviews... "It is a story that forms, integrates, and gives birth without warning, and when it gives birth, we find it more wonderful than we expected to live and sing our musical heritage." “My Unseen, O Sun, My Unseen,” “Let the Lovers Be Peaceful,” “Take Maha with them,” “My Uncle, O My Uncle,” and “O You Who Live in the Neighborhood.”
Halaby’s words were not limited to Shukri, who died young in 1969, but was sung by major Syrian and Arab singers and artists, including the musician Muhammad Abdel Wahab, Fayza Ahmed, Shadia, Sabah, Souad Muhammad, Mary Gibran, Hoda Sultan, Maha Al Jabri, Sabah Fakhri, Mustafa Nasri, Karawan, Ruba Al Jamal, Maan Dandshi, Yassin Mahmoud and Rafiq Sbaei. Duraid Lahham, Nihad Kalai, Najah Salam, Warda Al Jazairia, George Wassouf, Abdel Razzaq Muhammad, Ghassan Naji and Kinana Al Qasir.
Halabi collaborated with the great Syrian composers of his time, including Abdel Fattah Sukkar, Muhammad Mohsen, Zaki Muhammad, Nimr Karaki, Adnan Abu al-Shamat, Ibrahim Jawdat, Suhail Arafa and Najib al-Sarraj.
Halaby and the late Abdel Fattah Sukkar and Fahd Ballan formed a wonderful trio that enriched the Syrian and Arab music library by bringing young blood into the Arab singing arena through the unique and mountainous voice of Ballan. “Pasture the doctor” and “explain to her.”
Halaby worked on the renewal of many traditional songs and gave them a dimension of modernity and contemporaryity, including “Fouk al-Nakhl” and “Ya Tira My Bird” sung by Shadia, and “Mili Ma Mal Hawa” and “Ya Mal al-Sham” sung by Sabah Fakhri as he wrote for the Syrian Song Festival, which He was honored three times with many songs.
Halaby preserved his name and stature in what he wrote for seventy years, so he deservedly deservedly described the great Syrian poet Badawi al-Jabal to him after he heard some of his songs: “One of Omar Halabi’s songs is equivalent to a collection of poetry in his condition.”
Omar Halabi passed away on June 4, 2011 at the age of 90, and his legacy is a large archive of the masterpieces of Syrian songs.
Rasha Mahfoud