Sabah Fakhri

Sabah al-Din Abu Qaws (Arabic: صباح الدين أبو قوس; May 2, 1933 – November 2, 2021), commonly known as Sabah Fakhri (Arabic: صباح فخري, Syrian Arabic pronunciation: [sˤɑˈbɑːħ ˈfæχɾi]), was a Syrian tenor singer from Aleppo. With over 50 years of fame and popularity as a singer, Sabah Fakhri modified and popularized the then-fading forms of traditional Arabic music Muwashahat and Qudud Halabiya. He was well known for his beautiful strong vocals, impeccable control and execution of Maqamat and harmony, as well as his dominant and charismatic performances on stage. In the Arab world, he is regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. Sabah was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1933, then a major center for Arabic and Oriental music. He enrolled in the Academy of Arabic Music of Aleppo, and later studied at the Academy of Damascus, from which he graduated in 1948. He was given the stage name "Fakhri" by his mentor, Syrian nationalist leader Fakhri al-Barudi, who encouraged him as a young boy to stay in Syria and not travel to Italy. One of Fakhri's earliest performances was in 1948 at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, before President Shukri al-Quwatli and Prime Minister Jamil Mardam Bey. Unlike many Arab artists, he never studied or worked in Cairo, insisting that his fame is linked to the artistic heritage of his homeland, Syria. After studying muwashshahat, rhythms, Samah dance, poems, adwar, solfège, and playing the oud—under the guidance of prominent figures in Arabic music and great Syrian musicians such as Sheikh Ali al-Darwish, Sheikh Omar al-Batsh, Majdi al-Aqili, Nadim and Ibrahim al-Darwish, Muhammad Rajab, and Aziz Ghannam—he worked in his youth as an employee for the Awqaf (religious endowments) of Aleppo and as a muezzin at the Al-Rawda Mosque there. Sabah Fakhri was one of the very few singers from Arabic-speaking countries to have reached widespread popularity by singing in the Arabic language (including Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Australia). His name is enshrined in the Guinness Book of Records for his prowess in Caracas, Venezuela, where he sang continuously for 10 hours without pause. In 1998, Fakhri became a member of the Syrian parliament for the session, as a representative of artists. When he performed, Fakhri insisted on interacting with his audience. Before singing, he insisted on having a good atmosphere by having good musicians and an appropriate sound system.