Friday, January 11, 2008

She of the variably transliterated name

Umm Kalthoum, Oum Kolthoum, Umme Kolsoum, whatever. She was the great diva of Arab music. Read about her here.

This kinescope (I think that's what it is) may make you a little seasick. Just close your eyes and listen. Amazing, passionate stuff.

*UPDATE: I found a translation of the lyrics to this song, "El Atlal," at this page.

5 comments:

Mary said...

Wow, that was rather awesome!

BitterGrace said...

Isn't she great? A goddess.

Anonymous said...

Yes, indeed! Where did you find out about her? I really enjoyed the song lyrics, too. SO romantic.

BitterGrace said...

Dave brought her home--who else?

David Maddox said...

And to give further credit where credit is due, I heard about her on a long profile on NPR. I wish I could report a more esoteric source, and I should probably expend the energy to make up a colorful story.