Charming Voice of the Middle East: Fairuz

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Yesterday (November 21) was the 83rd birthday of singer Fairuz, who leaves a charming influence on people with her voice. Though she is known as a singer from Lebanon, her voice and songs have long crossed the borders of Lebanon and spread first to the Arabian Peninsula, then, to the whole Middle East and, finally, to different parts of the world.

Her father, an Assyrian, was exiled from Mardin during the genocide in 1915. As for her mother, she was a Maronite from Lebanon. The sorrows of 1915 are, perhaps, reflected in Fairuz's voice as sadness, who knows?

Fairuz was born in Jabal Al-Arz in 1935. Her real name is Nouhad Haddad. She started singing in the Lebanon radio. She also sang in the choir of the radio for some time. It was there that she took up the name Fairuz. It is said that Mohamed Flayfel, one of the most prominent songwriters and composers of the time, discovered her voice.

Then, Fairuz met composer Assi Rahbani. Assi Rahbani was also one of the most prominent names of the time with his knowledge of music. Rahbani contributed dearly to the musical development of Fairuz. He was one of the people who composed the poems of prominent poets of the Arabian geography and helped to spread them with Fairuz's charming voice.

Thanks to her enchanting voice, Fairuz is listened to and loved by everyone regardless of their age, gender or any other background. She has a voice that can be listened and enjoyed in every place and every time. In other words, her voice does not solely belong to a single period.

Fairuz sang her songs for children and adults, for love, for mothers, for the love of the country. Being deeply influenced by the struggle of the Palestinians, she also has a song that she sang about Jerusalem. In the 1980s, when Lebanon was under the occupation of Israel, Fairuz was highly affected by this occupation and composed numerous songs about Lebanon.

With its melancholic and fluent tones, the voice of Fairuz is close to operatic voices. Fairuz is the person who charms the ones who listen to her voice.

The enchanting voice of Fairuz, who decided to stop taking the stage in 2011, is still spreading in the geography of the Middle East and the world. (MD/FD/SD)