A Divas Reputation for Aretha Franklin - myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theDivas Reputation for Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross. Answer: The essay aims to discuss the various issues that are involved in forming the reputation of Fairouz as a Diva. A diva is an extremely talented woman. The term was previously used to refer the stars in the operas. With the change in time, the term has begun to be used to refer other musical genres. Now it has a more general connotation to refer the extremely talented female musicians. Performers like Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Patsy Cline and Madonna have all been termed as divas, along with some other women. These performers are reputed for their musical talent and grace as well as their culture and performances (Urkevich 2014). Some of these divas associate great talent but short temper and problematic personalities. This is probably the reason why the term diva has been started to be used to refer to a woman who is hard to be dealt with. However, the diva like Fiarouz was reputed for her gentle, courteous personality, generosity and usually was more busy with her career. Qualities of a diva: Fairouzs story of growth from extreme poverty to great wealth touched the heart of the Arab world. The stories of her childhood in rags have become the stuffs of legends. This diva who could not afford a radio has become one of the most celebrated and successful female singer of all time. She started from a very humble background as a chorus member in radio station of Lebanon. Fairouz was quickly identified for her unique voice from the group and thus she started her journey in the musical world. The nostalgic and nationalistic music and the angelic voice of Fairouz crossed the boundaries of nations and generations. She earned the title Safeerat Al Nojoom and Jarat Al Qamar for her pro-Palestinian music. She was called the soul of Lebanon and Callas of Arabia. Rumi, the music director of Lebanese radio station made her lead soloist and given her the stage name, Fairouz. Fairouz appeared on Lebanese and Syrian airwaves when the radio was popularly dominated by the Egyptian musicians. The style of her music and her unique voice posed a clear difference between the traditional Egyptian music that lasted for half an hour and her modern, short and sweet songs, written by her husband Personal life: In 1947, Fairouz was just 14 when Mohammad Fleifel discovered her and gave her admission in National Conservatory of Music. After that Lebanese listeners accepted her with full enthusiasm and this led her meeting with the Rahbani brothers, Assi and Mansour. They were lyricist and composer of modern songs (Burkhalter, Dickinson and Harbert 2013). The team of these three first got the public exposure when the Rahbanis composed the songs by adopting the modern western tunes to Arabic songs. However, this adaption was only an exposure but they came into the limelight for the melancholic love songs called Itab (Allen 2012). In all forms, Fairouzs song characterized with her artistic qualities that appealed and reached the heart of the people irrespective of different national and social background. After the marriage of Fairouz and Assi, when they visited Egypt, the centre of Arabic culture, theatre, song, and cinema, Fairouz again won the heart of the celebrated composers, lyricist and f ilmmakers. At that time she could not take those offers as she was about to give birth of Ziad, who later became composer like his father. Impact of technology in Fairouzs career: The credit of popularizing Fairouz and her success goes to her early recordings and airwave technologies, which was spread parallel throughout Middle East. The hesitance could be heard in the musicians voices prior to Fairouz as they could not connect with their listeners but the team of Fairouz mastered the skill of recording. Therefore, the appeal of her songs was much clearer and she harnessed herself for further competitions. Mohammed Abdulwahhab at this time introduced the western instruments and use of orchestras in the Arabic music (Chen 2012). He tied a knot with this trio and utilized the radio technology at its best. Her contemporary Um Kalthoum was busy in her on stage performances with her complicated vocals, could only reach the lower working class of Cairo whereas, Fairouz reached every household with her crispy and romantic voice (Kraidy 2015). Her vinyl records echoing the nostalgia built the air of deep-rooted authenticity. Later when the Arab music world came under the influence of western music, Fairouz started to work with her son Ziad. She became the part of innovation with Jazz music, classical traditional music and the folk music. Collaborating with Ziad, she enchanted the new generation listeners of Arab world (Mejcher-Atassi 2013). Personal and public qualities: Fairouz had an enigmatic persona. She was reserved and private person and did not want to give personal interviews or appearances except stage performances. In staged also she used to stand motionless before the microphone. When questioned, she expressed her stage fear as the cause for such habit. She did not discuss anything with the media after the controversies brewed up. She did not issued any statements for years. This might be viewed as a part of process of maintaining her image and this absolute silence became a part of her legacy. This secretive personality has created a mystery around Fairouz. Political controversies affecting the career: Fairuz's appeal was cross-cultural, extended to the West. She had fans from Las Vegas to Paris. These fans might not understand the words, but that did not stop her and famous concert halls were booked. However, despite such immense popularity, Fairouz was entangled in the political controversies during Lebanons civil war in 1970 (Berg 2013). She did not take sides and stopped performing in the Lebanese halls. To her, the songs were a part of the political activism to which, the war weary Lebanon was clung. In spite of these conflicts, during this period, she continued to express her love for unified Lebanon. In 2008, Fairouz was commended of assisting the Syrian intelligence services (Al Obeidyine 2015). Many of the activists suggested her to boycotted and people wanted her not to perform in Damascus. She did not issue any statement against anybody, only wrote that her performance should be felt from cultural perspectives for she did not sing for the rulers but the common people (Ho ngur 2016). However, her brother-in-law Mansour defended her decision by saying that her performance might be a message of love and peace for the Syrians from Lebanon. The tragedy hurt her most when after Mansours death his children filed a complaint against her. For the compositions were written by both the brothers Assi and Mansour, she could not perform them without permission. This led to the absolute silencing of the diva. Millions of her fans including celebrities flew to Lebanon to protest against the courts orders. In 2013, her son disclosed her fondness for Nasrallahs political vision, which howled controversy again (Haugbolle 2016). Therefore, from the above analysis it can be deducted that Fairouz is one of the greatest artistic personality of Lebanon of all time. She has entertained millions with her enchanting voice, emotional appeal and passion for united Lebanon. The diva never uttered a single word in her defense even when she was accused of anti-nationalism. Despite she was banned in her own country, Lebanon was always present in her heart and music. References: Al Obeidyine, J., 2015. Social agency inventing the nation: The case of Rahbani Brothers, Abdel Halim Caracalla the Lebanese folk dance.Acta Ethnographica Hungarica,60(1), pp.61-67. Allen, M., 2012. Music for a Goddess. Berg, C., 2013. 'MUSIC'AS A POLITICAL FORCE IN ISLAMIST ORGANISATIONS.Journal of Communications Research,5(4). Burkhalter, T., Dickinson, K. and Harbert, B.J. eds., 2013.The Arab Avant-garde: Music, Politics, Modernity. Wesleyan University Press. Chen, Y., 2012. The influence of Arab music on European music from instruments.Journal of Henan Institute of Science and Technology,1, p.023. Haugbolle, S., 2016. The Leftist, the Liberal, and the Space In Between: Ziad Rahbani and Everyday Ideology.Arab studies journal,24(1), p.168. Hongur, G., 2016. Music in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution: The Case of Fairouz.Current Research in Social Sciences,2(3), pp.123-129. Kraidy, M.M., 2015. The politics of revolutionary celebrity in the contemporary Arab world.Public Culture,27(1 75), pp.161-183. Mejcher-Atassi, S., 2013. Art and Political Dissent in Postwar Lebanon: Walid Sadek's Fi Annani Akbar Min Bikasu [Bigger than Picasso].International Journal of Middle East Studies,45(3), pp.535-560. Urkevich, L., 2014.Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. Routledge.