Salou Qalbi (Ask My Heart) سلوا قلبي
1946 · Maqam Rast
Salou Qalbi (1946): Ahmed Shawqi's qasida in Sunbati's maqam Rast — the song that made 'goals are never attained by wishing' the proverb of a generation.
The Song Archive
All songs Enta Omri (You Are My Life) إنت عمري
1964 · Maqam Kurd
Enta Omri (1964): Umm Kulthum meets Mohammed Abdel Wahab in the 'meeting of the clouds' — history, maqam Kurd, and the meaning of her most famous love song.
Amal Hayati (Hope of My Life) أمل حياتي
1965 · Maqam Kurd
Amal Hayati (1965): Ahmad Shafiq Kamel's plea to stay inside love's dream, set by Abdel Wahab in maqam Kurd — meaning, translation & the story of its premiere.
Araka 'Asiyy al-Dam' (I See You Withholding Your Tears) أراك عصي الدمع
1965 · Maqam Kurd
Araka 'Asiyy al-Dam' (1965): Abu Firas al-Hamdani's captivity qasida in Riad al-Sunbati's maqam Kurd setting — annotated lyrics, translation, and its story.
Al-Atlal (The Ruins) الأطلال
1966 · Maqam Huzam
Al-Atlal (1966): Ibrahim Nagi's poetry in Riad al-Sunbati's maqam Huzam setting — why so many call it Umm Kulthum's masterpiece, and what its ruins mean.
Alf Leila wa Leila (One Thousand and One Nights) ألف ليلة وليلة
1969 · Maqam Farahfaza
Alf Leila wa Leila (1969): Baligh Hamdi's nocturne for Umm Kulthum — maqam Farahfaza, the night-long refrain, and why one night outweighs a thousand and one.
On the first Thursday of every month, the cafés turned their radios toward the street, and one voice carried the night from the ocean to the gulf.
From the wiki
All articlesHistory
The First Thursday Concerts
Once a month, on the first Thursday, the Arab world stopped: the story of Umm Kulthum's live radio concerts and the ritual they became.
Biography
Umm Kulthum: A Life
The life of Umm Kulthum: from a Nile Delta village and Quranic training to Cairo's radio age, the national concerts, and the funeral of the century.
History
The Death and Funeral of Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum died on 3 February 1975. Her final illness, the Cairo funeral that drew millions, the seized bier, her Basatin mausoleum, and the Arab world's mourning.