Fayrouz: From the Lebanese Radio Studios to the Rahbanian Castle – A Journey to Becoming Queen

How did Fayrouz enter the Rahbanian castle and become the queen?

Venue: Lebanese Radio studios in Beirut

The time: a day in 1949

Characters: Assi Rahbani, Halim Al-Roumi, Nihad Haddad

The scene: Halim introduces Assi to Nihad

The days began to pass in a similar monotony for Assi Al-Rahbani. He distributes it between serving in the police, composing music and playing the violin on the radio. Until that day came when the great Rahbani destiny was completed.

Musician Halim Al-Roumi did not know that, at that moment in 1949, he was presenting Asi with the gift of a lifetime. A 16-year-old girl named Nouhad Haddad performs songs in the “Fulaifel Ensemble” on the Lebanese radio. “I recommend it to you for solo singing,” Halim says to Assi, who hastened to adopt that unique voice.

Al-Roumi called her “Fayrouz”, while Assi called her the Queen. He presented her with the keys to the Rahbanian castle, so that she became the provision by which good, creativity and dream multiply. And since the first song, “Habbada Ya Ghoroob”, Fayrouz’s voice has never departed from the days of the Lebanese and Arabs.

Fayrouz mediates the Rahbani brothers (Marwan and Ghadi Rahbani Archives)

The Rahbani brothers poured their genius into Fayrouz’s soft voice, and she was very diligent, according to Asi’s admission. In one of her rare conversations, she says, “Assi was quick to give, and (she) was quick to receive.” He recalled difficult beginnings during which their work was attacked: “We were not loved, but the situation did not last long. We did not care much about what was said, despite its harshness… We walked and completed the road.

The song “Reproach” came to be the first turning point in the journey of the two brothers and Fayrouz. The listeners loved it, just as they loved the radio programs that Assi and Mansour devoted themselves to producing, and the characters they invented, such as “Saba and Makhoul.”

“When Asi and I started, we were two guiding each other in order to stand against the sun and the social and intellectual storms,” says Mansour Rahbani, who, along with his brother, opened the chest, thought and ears wide before the “windows of civilization” and all musical waves and styles.

The first years passed with the tunes of “Ya Ghazil”, “Mashq al-Za’roura”, and “Baadana” … and Fayrouz’s voice, which grew, expanded and sweetened song after song.

“The brothers found their inspiration in Fayrouz,” Osama Rahbani told Asharq Al-Awsat. Despite the passage of years, he still looks in amazement at what the Rahbani trio achieved: “I am glad that these three met and made that legend.”

A “formless” woman entered the Rahbani House

In Fayrouz, Asi found a companion on the path, and they married in 1955. She officially became the daughter of the Rahbani house, and Assi’s mother embraced her with kindness and insight. Ilham Rahbani remembers what her mother said: “This woman is (unformed). She is a great talent and a working lady. Everyone in the house should deal with her calmly and not disturb her.”

In her interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Elham added, “Fayrouz was and still is something revealed to us. We appreciated her conditions and those of our two brothers, which were imposed by work.”

Fayrouz and Assi Rahbani’s wedding (Marawan and Ghadi Rahbani Archives)

When asked if Fayrouz’s glow caused jealousy of the girls in the family, Elham Rahbani answers: “Assi and Mansour flooded us with their affection, so we never felt that we were left behind. We sang and danced on their stage and helped them as much as we could, but in the end we are realists; They and Fayrouz have talent, not us.

Assi and Fayrouz gave birth to many songs and four children: Ziad, Hali, Layal, and Rima. Between motherhood and glory, Fayrouz walked a path that was not always moonlit or embroidered with roses. Working with Asi was difficult. In the documentary “It Was a Story,” directed by her daughter, Rima Rahbani, she says, “Assi was a dictator, demanding, cruel, and difficult to please at work… He had terrible power and everyone feared him.” Despite his power, he was amazed by Fayrouz’s voice, and she was amazed by “his pictures and arguments.” I got into it and couldn’t get out of it. She became her world.

The brothers never knew rest. Between songs, radio programs, plays, festivals, travels, and movies, they did not find a date for vacation or recreation. They were always working and worrying. Even the dining table in the mother’s house, they turned it into a stage on which they poured their thoughts and tunes. “Umm Assi was capable. I opened the house for them and their friends, writers and musicians,” Ilham Rahbani told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Assi and Mansour with the mother, Saada (Marwan and Ghadi Al-Rahbani Archives)

Later, the “Rahbanian group” moved with Assi and Mansour to Badaro Street in Beirut, where their office was, which witnessed the birth of the most important works, and intellectual and artistic discussions that began in the morning and did not end before nightfall.

Assi, Mansour and the long working hours (Marwan and Ghadi Rahbani Archives)

Osama Rahbani stands amazed at the prolific production of his uncle and father with Fayrouz: “When I try to count all their work and Fayrouz, and the speed with which they were achieving, I am amazed. They would go down to the office at 8 in the morning and not return before 8:30 in the evening, if they did not have a recording in the studio at night. And between the idea and the tone, and between a theatrical text and a lyrical poem, a daily appointment with lunch, so the office turns into the “Al-Akhawain Restaurant” and around the table are the “clique” companions: Saeed Akl, George Shehadeh, Abdullah Al-Akhtal, Rafik Khoury, George Skaf, George Ibrahim Al-Khoury, and others. People of literature, art and media.

Band rehearsals with Assi playing the bouzouki (Marwan and Ghadi Rahbani Archives)

Al-Rahbana is on a date with the beautiful time

Between 1957 and 1972, the blissful time in Lebanon seemed poised to embrace Rehabism, and the ground was fertile for making art. “The climate in our beginnings was appropriate for the emergence of the phenomenon of Al-Rahbani and Fayrouz… The general atmosphere was in a state of thirst for culture and the doors of production were open,” Mansour Al-Rahbani said.

Artist Joseph Azar, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, recalls that stage, evoking characters that Assi and Mansour dressed him in: “In (Moon Bridge) within the Baalbek festivals, I was Saleh Ibn Mukhtar al-Qati, then I presented the character (Hulu) in (Night and Lantern).” As for the role that still inhabits the popular memory, it is most likely in the movie “The Seller of the Rings”.

With humility that only adults are professional in, Azar says: “Assi and Mansour entered history through the wide door, and we entered with them from “energy.” I had the honor of belonging to that great school, nay, the university in which we learned the system and witnessed the genius. And Azar was not only a contemporary of the first Rahbani generation and Fayrouz, but also all the Rahbani stars, such as Wadih al-Safi, Sabah, Nasri Shams al-Din, Antoine Kerbaj, Philemon Wehbe, Elie Choueiri, Hoda, Joseph Nassif, William Haswani, Melhem Barakat, and Georgette Sayegh…

Al-Rahbani revive the Baalbek festivals (Marwan and Ghadi Al-Rahbani Archives)

With a feather from the wings of nightingales and sensual people, the Rahbana drew a country whose mountains were made of blue clouds that the hands of the enemies could not reach. They planted in the imagination of the Lebanese vineyards of pearls and fields in which love grows. This image is nothing but a reflection of their fondness for Lebanon. Asi once said in a radio interview: “We grew up in a village between vineyards and farmers. We have ties to good people and their homes. Our country is part of us, and its land is our true mother.”

This Rahban situation extended to the neighboring countries, so they sang the Arab countries and their peoples who adopted them and opened their theaters and hearts to them. As for that Rahbani homeland, “small and vast,” the Rahbanites refused to be blamed for inventing it. We dreamed of a homeland. Our homeland is truth, justice, goodness and beauty. Our homeland is realistic and can be achieved when good people come to power.” Until the end of his days, Mansour Rahbani kept repeating that idea.

From the glory of his giving, the disease stole Asi in 1972. And from the glory of his glow, the war stole Lebanon (1975). As if sadness hit a double date with the Lebanese and Rahbani houses. Asi returned from his temporary coma to see the green Rahbani Lebanon burning and its moon setting behind the hills.

How did Assi Rahbani discover Fayrouz’s talent and what made him believe she had the potential to become the queen of the Rahbani castle?

S entry into the Rahbani castle and her journey to becoming the queen, there is a fascinating story that unfolded in the Lebanese Radio studios in Beirut in 1949. It all started when Assi Rahbani, a musician and police officer, was introduced to a 16-year-old girl named Nouhad Haddad by his friend Halim Al-Roumi.

Halim, who was familiar with Assi’s passion for music, recommended Nouhad to him for solo singing. Assi, captivated by Nouhad’s unique voice, gave her the stage name “Fayrouz” and saw in her the potential to become the queen of the Rahbanian castle. He believed that she could bring forth good, creativity, and dreams.

With the support and guidance of the Rahbani brothers, Assi and Mansour, Fayrouz’s talent flourished. They poured their genius into her soft voice, and she worked hard to meet their expectations. In a conversation, she mentioned that Assi was quick to give and she was quick to receive, highlighting their strong partnership.

Their journey faced challenges in the beginning, as their work was criticized and disliked. However, they persevered and focused on their vision, not allowing harsh words to deter them. Their breakthrough came with the song “Reproach,” which resonated with listeners, setting the stage for their future success.

For years, Fayrouz’s voice continued to enchant audiences with songs like “Ya Ghazil,” “Mashq al-Za’roura,” and “Baadana.” The Rahbani brothers found inspiration in her, constantly pushing the boundaries of music and embracing different styles.

Asi realized that Fayrouz was not just a musical companion but also a life partner. They married in 1955, and she officially became a part of the Rahbani family. Assi’s mother embraced Fayrouz with kindness and insight, recognizing her talent and hard work. She described Fayrouz as a “formless” woman, someone with unlimited potential, and urged everyone in the house to treat her with respect.

The journey of Fayrouz and the Rahbani brothers was a remarkable collaboration that led to the creation of a legend. Despite the challenges they faced, their talent and dedication allowed them to leave an indelible mark on Lebanese and Arab music.

In rewriting the article, I have summarized and rephrased the content while highlighting the significant events and emotions involved in Fayrouz’s entry into the Rahbani castle and her transformation into the queen.