Fariha Al Abdullah and Najah Al Shaarani

Jalsat Safaa (Buzuq) - Serenity Session (Buzuq)

• Attaba

• Dal'ona

Label

Artist Origin

Credits

Vocals: Fariha Al Abdullah
Buzuq: Najah Al-Shaarani

More Info

Before Saria Al-Sawas became the first lady of Syrian shaabi song, this throne belonged to another mighty voice, that of Fariha Al Abdullah. Fariha is still present today, but she lived a golden age in the 1990s, when she was abundantly present at weddings, private parties, and nightclubs. She collaborated with a wide spectrum of voices and musicians, and shaped the features of the Syrian shaabi singer with her highly dynamic voice adorned with a hoarseness that gives it sadness. At the beginning of her career, Fariha carried the classification of Al-Hajiat or Al-Sheikhat, a title given by the people of Homs to female Syrian shaabi singers from their region who suffered rejection from their conservative societies. However, today Fariha carries another title she deservedly earned through her long career: Singer of the Badia. ••• In this cassette, we get a chance to listen to Fariha's tarab side within the attaba and mawal forms, accompanied by the skilled buzuq player Najah Al Shaarani, who, like Fariha, is still an active performer today in private parties. The cassette is characterized by a rough sound that makes Fariha sound like a singer from a bygone era, and gives Al Shaarani's buzuq a rich texture. Performing "Dal'ona" is considered a test that every Syrian shaabi singer must pass through and attempt to leave their mark on the famous classic. Fariha passes this test confidently on the second side of the cassette, tackling the song with a deliberate, immersive performance and a majestic voice, with which she engraves in our memory phrases like: He bought me, told me (for) the money / And I bought him to flirt with his eyes / For Dal'ona.