Riad Al Sunbati

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Riad Al Sunbati · Riad Mohamed El Sunbati, also spelled Riad Sonbati, was an Egyptian composer and musician, born on 30 November 1906 and died on 10 September 1981. He was regarded as one of the great names of Egyptian music and composed 539 works for the Egyptian opera, operettas and Egyptian film. He also wrote religious music and song lyrics.

Music and breakthrough

He was the first son after eight daughters. His father was a singer at parties and weddings and caught him as a child playing the oud and singing Sayed Darwish. He took him along as a wedding singer. At the age of nine he developed an eye disease, but his talent was obvious. He became lead singer of a group and was given the nickname the nightingale of Mansoura. In 1928 he moved with his father to Cairo, where he was hired as a teacher of oud and singing at the Arab Music Institute. After three years he switched to composing. His first composition was a poem by Ahmed Shawqi, later sung by Mohammed Abdel Wahab. In the early 1930s he recorded taksims for the label Odeon, oud improvisations of his own.

Influence

He wrote for many male and female singers, among them Umm Kulthum, Fairouz, Asmahan, Warda Al-Jazairia and Fayza Ahmed. His music builds on the oud and the Arabic vocal tradition. Through the voice of Umm Kulthum his work reached a large audience in the Arab world.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 2014Oud Taksims