When asked about the most prodigious phenomenon that has marveled the Lebanese since 1943, the Fairouz-Rahbani legacy is the first answer that would pop into one’s mind. Music in the Levant was fixated on Syrian hymns for many decades, before Ziryab came and established a unique and influential school of music in Al-Andalus in the 9th century. Much later, in the early 1920s, Aleppine and Iraqi Qudouds rose to popularity as an eminent musical genre. Sayyid Darwish, Abdul Wahhab and others also left their mark on the musical scene. However, the most sublime contribution offered to music in the Arab world was that of Assi Rahbani and Fairouz. Assi’s artistic works, songs and plays revived music in the Levant and gave it its most radiant luster, until his lyrics became part and parcel of our daily musical dictionary. If it weren’t for Fairouz, we and our children wouldn’t have had anything to listen to, except the exquisite lullabies that our grandmas used to sing us before bedtime, or the hit “Bous el-Wawa” and the like, which, our society is, sadly, mesmerized by.

Fairouz has become a symbol of unity in the Levant through her melodies, lyrics and plays, which echoed folkloric classics of Sham and Andalusia and dreamed of returning to Palestine, in an era, which was ripe for aesthetic creation in the fifties and the sixties. In Lebanon, each of the parties and groups chose to believe that she was singing for them and relished the thought. In the1960s, members of the SSNP sang with her “Menkaffi Belli Be’eyou”. “Khabtet Adamkon A’al Ard Haddara” tugged at the heartstrings of the Lebanese Army, and the Free Patriotic Movement allies chanted “Bokra Berja’a Bouaf Ma’akoun” with the utmost passion. “Ya Trab l Janoub” resonated deeply with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, while “Li Beirut” sent chills down the spine of the Future Movement loyalists. Similarly, the PSP seemed to never get tired of “Ya Qamar Mashghara”, nor did the Lebanese Forces stop replaying “Tlo’na Ala Shams”. It all boils down to the emergence of fine musical pieces after long periods of hibernation, so that the maqamat, tones and lyrics would become symphonies chanting the history of our region.

Fairouz’s all-time hit “Bhebbak Ya Libnan” became tantamount to the Lebanese National Anthem, recited by the Lebanese masses from the north to the south, passing through Beqa’a and Mount Lebanon and echoing in every corner, house and neighborhood.

Ziad Rahbani’s plays were acclaimed nationwide and beyond, even by his most staunch critics, and we can hardly find a person in this torn Levant or elsewhere for that matter, who does not copy Ziad or imitate his genius or quote his lines and wit. On a relevant note, it is worthwhile to quote Antoun Saadeh who, however strange people might find it, offered great insight on the relation between music and politics (1):

“..He (the musician or the political leader) is a man heedful of the innate virtues of liberty, peace and love rooted inside his people. He never aims for political goals, but instead, sets for loftier and more efficient destinations. He is someone who views the political flurry as trivial, when not grounded on a sturdy spirit inculcated into the core of all individuals, men and women, young and old, through vivid literature and music capable of uniting all emotions under one superior banner. This way, people would have common social faith based on love, which, when found within the entire nation, may give rise to phenomenal cooperation and compassion that fills life with hope and vigor. Only then will political effort become productive because the patriotism built on archaic and worn-out traditions remains forever fruitless, even if it yields political freedom…” Therefore it is imperative to wonder why we can’t see and hear Fairouz on Al-Manar TV. Isn’t she the spring and winter of this country? Isn’t she the one who chanted Barada, Jerusalem, Baghdad and Sham to stellar heights with her celestial voice? Or has she become a “bird of sorrow without a land?”

What would remain of a Lebanon devoid of Assi, Fairouz and Ziad?

Jawad N. Adra

(1) The Complete Works published by Saadeh cultural Foundation, Vol 6, 331-332