Sayed Mostafa

An Egyptian music composer and actor, born in 1906 in the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood in Cairo. He joined a kateb when he was young. He dropped out of school because of his love for singing. He used to go to birthday parties and nightlife places. He turned, while still a boy, to sing at weddings and various occasions. Al-Kassar was recognized for his talent, so he joined his band, as music and singing were among the most important elements of the show. During this period, Sayed Darwish was impressed by his voice and his ability to memorize melodies quickly, and during this period he worked as a master. Darwish was a composer in Ali Al-Kassar’s band, so he was assigned the task of memorizing the singers. He also participated in acting in the band’s performances in 1927. He worked as a teacher at the Institute of Music and was chosen as a member of the committee formed to collect the musical heritage, which paved the way for the establishment of the Arab Music Band in 1968. Among his most famous works: The Song of the Horse and the Arabic Nut. He participated in composing a large part of Ali Al-Kassar’s works and was assigned to compose 27 plays, the most famous of which are: Sah Al-Num - Habayeb - Al-Bakasha - Hayat Al-Barbari - Al-Bash Agha. - Bint Al-Shahat - The King’s Seal - Love Lanterns - 42 Set - Beit Al-Natash - Bint Al-Aiah - The One Who Lives. In 1944, he composed an operetta on the Day of Resurrection with Zakaria Ahmed and Mohamed Abdel Wahab Helmy, and composed for the artist Baba Ezzedine’s troupe the following short plays and sketches: Al Johnson - Kingdom of Bees - Square of Honor - Nature’s Feasts, and among the films he composed: The Ring of Ankhil and the film His Excellency. Kashkish Bey, and the movie Khalaf Al Habayeb, Sayed Darwish described him as a tape recorder, and he would remind him of any tune he had dropped by mistake. Among his idiosyncrasies was that when the Egyptian Radio opened in 1937, he was the first to be presented with the program Al-Saad and Al-Baraka, which was one of his melodies and singing, and Karem Mahmoud, Mohamed Qandil, Shafia Ahmed, and Ibrahim Hamouda participated in singing with him. He died on January 7, 1980.