Reinterpreting a legend: Singer Ghalia Benali on the enduring power of Umm Kulthum

The Tunisian-Belgian artist says Umm Kulthum's power lies in the intimacy of her songs

Ghalia Benali will channel the spirit of Umm Kulthum in an Abu Dhabi concert. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

As a child, Tunisian-Belgian singer Ghalia Benali thought Umm Kulthum was her grandmother.

Such was the presence of her faded portrait above her parents’ bed – with the revered Egyptian singer staring ahead in her signature curved sunglasses – that Benali believed she was a blood relative. "That's where my emotional connection with Umm Kulthum comes from," she tells The National. "It's not about musical awareness or analysis. It's a mysterious, ancient bond – something instinctive, like a longing. I was four years old and remember that picture, and I heard her voice in every room. It was familiar, as if I was born to it."

That personal bond will be shared on stage when Benali performs a tribute concert to Umm Kulthum at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. The cultural event, which includes concerts and literary discussions, is one of many taking place across the region to commemorate 50 years since the legendary singer’s passing.

The Abu Dhabi concert is part of an ongoing project that began with Benali’s 2010 album Ghalia Benali Sings Umm Kalthoum in which the original, expansive orchestral arrangements are stripped down to oud, double bass, percussion and Benali’s expressive vocals. Featuring songs such as Al Atlal and Araftu’l Hawa, the project focuses on the intimacy of the lyrics – a choice Benali describes as the only viable way to approach one of the most prestigious canons in the Arabic songbook.

"I will not be singing her – I will be telling her," she adds. "I treat these cherished songs as if I'm narrating a poem or a story I share with the audience. Between these poetic and musical performances, we can create a contemporary moment."

And this occasion may eschew some of the material audiences are most familiar with. Benali says the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi stage offers an ideal opportunity to delve deeper into Umm Kulthum’s vast catalogue with select pieces introduced by short reflections on their artistic and cultural impact.

"In this more academic context, I can choose and present more complex or lesser-known songs – pieces not for dancing, but for deep listening," she says. "I recall that after a show at Dubai Opera, a woman came up to me and said 'but you didn’t sing the Umm Kulthum songs we know – the ones we dance to and sing along with'. I replied 'perhaps each of us has our own Umm Kulthum – and this was mine'.”

Benali adds that Kulthum’s catalogue – said to include between 280 and 320 songs – intentionally avoided direct lyricism in order to resonate widely. “This is precisely what made her great – she doesn’t offer solutions. Instead, she knows how to ask the right questions, ones that gently open wounds and tell people: ‘I see you, I hear you, I feel you'.”

Umm Kulthum at the Sphinx in Cairo, Egypt. Photo: Public Domain

Another point, Benali, who is also a vocal instructor, wants to highlight with the concert is the rigorous training Umm Kulthum underwent on her path to stardom – an aspect increasingly overlooked in today’s modern music landscape. “It began with Quranic recitation, which allowed her to learn all the possible maqamat (musical modes) and the secrets of Arab sensitivity,” she says.

“I always tell my students in Europe who are learning Arabic singing that the first and deepest school for understanding the language – its spirit, tone, and rhythm – is listening to Quranic recitation.

"Umm Kulthum emerged from this school. She came from its spirit and transcended it to become an artistic phenomenon, gathering around her the greatest poets, composers and creatives and crafting a complete artform in every sense of the word.”

Tribute to Umm Kulthum by Ghalia Benali at Zayed Theatre, Sorbonne Abu Dhabi on Wednesday; show starts at 8pm and tickets start from Dh200 from the university website