Simon's "India and the Middle East"

I am a people-person. I always have been and, against my better judgement, I probably always will be. Hence, it should come to no surprise that tonight's blog is less about "cool stuff" and more about cool people. In learning about different cultures of the world, and their music, we don't often have the time to focus on individual people. This week, we are learning about music in India and the Middle East, and there were a few people that I wanted to get to know better. 

Please Welcome to the Stage, Umm Kulthum:

Egyptian novelist and Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz said this about Umm: "When she sees what reaches an audience, she gives them more of it, she works it, she refines it, she embellishes it." If you watch her give a performance, you can experience what Naguib is talking about. Umm poured her heart out to the audience through her voice, and it has an incredible impact. If you read this article and in the first video, skip to 1:09:00, you will witness how she interacts with the audience through her performance, and how the audience responds so fervently. 

Often you will hear the phrase, "They weren't born into greatness, they had to earn it." This phrase is only partially true for Umm.  Though we are unsure of her exact birthdate (birth records were not enforced in Egypt in the early 1900's), we are sure that she was born to an imam in Tamay e-Zahayra. Her family was not wealthy, but Umm showed greatness in singing from an early age. Her father made her memorize the Quran, and encouraged her to learn classical Arabic repertoire. Her talent and hard work did not go unnoticed. In 1920, Umm met composer Zakariyya Ahmad and he invited her to be a performer in Cairo, where she also learned to play the oud. Umm quickly rose to fame, but never forgot her humble roots and she maintained a conservative lifestyle.

Enjoy this enchanting performance by Umm Kulthum:

Put Your Hands Together For Norah Jones:

I have been a long-time lover of Norah Jones. And by that I mean I have loved her music for a long time - not that I am her lover. With that clarification out of the way, I can admit that I have never known much about her. Only today, I learned that she is the daughter of the late composer and sitarist Ravi Shankar. And although she was born to a famous father, Norah had a very modest upbringing. 

Growing up in Grapevine, Texas, Jones started singing in church (side note - have you noticed that a massive amount of famous singers got their start in church?) and in high school she joined as many choirs as she could. After graduating from the University of Texas with a degree in Jazz piano, Norah packed her bags and moved to New York City. She performed in a small band around the city, and was noticed by a record label executive. Jones signed with EMI Publishing, and went one to win 9 grammys and be nominated for 8 more. Like the aforementioned Umm Kulthum, Norah Jones maintains her humility and leads a drama-free, modest life.

Please enjoy "The Nearness of You" by Norah Jones:

The OG (Original Grifter), Scheherazade:

I say that Scheherazade was the original grifter because she talked her way out of getting murdered, and she did it a thousand times. Although she is a fictional woman, Scheherazade is a prominent character in Arabic folklore. And she even has her own symphony by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (read more about the symphony and its composition here). 

As the story goes, a King discovers that his bride was rolling in the hay with another man. The king beheads his wife. After which, he resolves to marry a new virgin of noble blood every night (talk about a serial monogamist) and behead her before dawn. This theoretically eliminates the possibility of his bride being unfaithful. Finally, the kingdom ran out of virgins, leaving the king no choice but to marry and behead his advisor's daughter, Scheherazade.

That was his plan, anyway. But Scheherazade had something else in mind. When she went to her fate, her sister Dunyazad cleverly asked her to tell a story. Scheherazade obliged, with the king listening in awe and excitement, but she stopped in the middle of the tale. The king begged her to finish, but she said there was no time, as dawn was breaking. The king spared her life for one more day. The next night, Scheherazade finished her story, and started another, again stopping on a cliffhanger. She repeated this for 1,001 nights, after which the king fell deeply in love with her and made her his queen. 

One of my favorite part of the Scheherazade symphony by Rimsky-Korsakov is the violin solo, featured below:

If you have time, I would implore you to (eventually) listen to the symphony in its entirety:

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