Thursday, February 17, 2011

جفنهً علم الغزل


This is one of the songs for Muhammad Abdul Wahhab that I absolutely adore. Filmed in 1933, the first thing that I find amazing is how it begins with the two women balancing jugs on their head as they walk past. That instantly brings the famous Egyptian countryside to life. At one point we get a glimpse of an Egyptian field, and we can see shadows from the clouds moving across, shadows from almost 80 years ago. The scene cuts to the girl standing in the middle of the field, beautiful and timid, looking around as if searching for someone. Finally the clip where she hops across a little ditch and then marches daintily off screen is to die for. She is like an Alice in Wonderland, portrayed through the eyes of Abdul Wahhab. There is something else that is hauntingly beautiful about this clip that I can't put my finger on, I'm not a film critic. Musically, I'm enchanted by the melody and the words. It is playful and different from anything else that was around at the time, and probably since. As for the young Muhammad Abdul Wahhab, we see a handsome, graceful young man dressed impeccably and with a fez on his head, as any respectable Arab gentleman would do back then. We might as well be seeing him alive and in front of us today. The overall effect of the clip with the music is nothing short of magical. Enjoy, late on a Wednesday night.

1 comment:

Hareega said...

What a wonderful song, and this music at that time in Egypt was quite unusual and even not accepted by many for being too "Westernized"!