Mohamad Abdul Wahab the legend of Arab singing
Egypt, People, 5/4/2000

Known as the "Composer of Generations", Mohamad Abdul Wahab is the twentieth century's singing legend, and to whom the Arab composing and singing owe superiority.

Over more than half a century, Mohamad Abdul Wahab delighted the Arab and Egyptian ears with his marvelous music to which he devoted all his life, thus, gained immortality in return.

Mohamad Abdul Wahab was born in Cairo on March 13, 1910. At the very outset, he studied at the "Arab Institution for Music".

Following his graduation, he studied principles and theories of the Western music in "Bergrin Institution" in Cairo.

In 1917, he started working as a singer in the singing theatrical troupes in Egypt. In 1922, and despite the fact that he was young, Mohamad Abdul Wahab's name started to glitter as a professional singer, as he joined "Naguib El Rehani Troupe" and roved together in a successful Arab tour.

In 1933, he found his way to the realm of cinema beside composing and singing, and produced a number of wonderful movies.

Mohamad Abdul Wahab mounted to the throne of singing and composing where he produced about 1800 tunes through out his life.

Matchless is an adjective that could safely describe Abdul Wahab, as none had managed to compete him in the realm except for the famous German Musician "Bach".

He revived the Arab Oriental tunes through mixing it with the Western one, and he was able to perform his tunes to suit different pitches.

Abdul Wahab and the Cinema

Mohamad Abdul Wahab was a pioneer in the field of the singing cinema, he acted in seven movies; "The White Rose", 1933, "Viva Love", 1931, "Love Tears", 1935, "A happy Day", 1940, "Love is Forbidden", 1942, "A bullet in the Heart", 1944, "I'm not an Angel", 1948.

Moreover, he produced many singing movies in which he presented famous singers such as, "The First Love" and "Days and Nights".

Influences on Abdul Wahab's Music

Abdul Wahab learnt to play "Lute" at the hands of "Mohamad Al Kasabgi". He was affected by the Egyptian environment and Folk singing, and was influenced by "Sayed Darwish" "People's Artist" who had contributed much to the production of many special creations in the Egyptian composing domain, which affected all sects of people.

With Abdul Wahab's intelligence, all these creations were promoted and developed.

On the other hand, Abdul Wahab was influenced by his study for the Arab music in the "Arab Institution for Music" and by the Western music through "Bergin Institution" in Cairo.

By these factors, Abdul Wahab managed to render a blend of both Arab and Western musics, creating a special kind of harmony between them.

Abdul Wahab and Ali Mahmoud Taha, the Poet of the Gondola

Ali Mahmoud Taha's poetry was characterized by being soft, expressing love towards beauty, nature, freedom, and even his patriotic poems were object to Abdul Wahab's admiration, such as: Palestine, The Gondola, and Cleopatra's Nights.

Abdul Wahab and Ahmed Shawki "Amir al Shuara" ,"The Prince of the Poets"

The start of this relationship began when Shawki's watched Abdul Wahab while singing on the stage, as he admired his performance, especially with Abdul Wahab's being young at that time.

Shawki encouraged Abdul Wahab and they got acquainted, hence both had strong ties with the Royal Palace.

Abdul Wahab song lots of Shawki's poems and plays such as, "Magnoon Lila" or "Crazy about Lila's" and "Cleopatra's Death".

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