Sudan Mourns Death Of Singing Genus, Kabli
05 December, 2021
KHARTOUM (Sudanow) - A hospital in the U.S State of Michigan on Thursday saw the death of Sudan’s singing icon, integrative artist and poet Abdelkareem Alkabli, who passed aged 89.
Kabli was a distinct example of a versatile artist, a creative singer and melodist, a poetry and lyric writer as well as a versed researcher in Sudanese culture, a translator and lecturer and at the same time a long-time employee of the Sudanese judiciary.
The late artist was born in the Eastern Red Sea City of Port Sudan in 1932. Completing his education in the 1950s, he joined the Sudan judiciary, serving it for twenty years. He then worked as a translator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, returned from there to start his career as a professional singer, sharing top position on the Sudanese arts pyramid, along with his times’ fellow leading artists.
Kabli is reported to have started singing as a young boy of eighteen in a narrow circle of family members and friends until he had the chance to perform Taj Alsir Alhassan’s song “Asia and Africa”, in a gala attended by the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nassir in November 1960.
The song, that glorifies the struggle of African and Asian nations for freedom, is seen as an indication of Kabli’s attention to his country’s public interest, at a time when the Sudan and the other emerging nations were celebrating the birth of the non-aligned movement and glorifying the struggle for independence in Africa and the rest of the World.
Another of Kabli’s patriotic songs was the one glorifying the struggle of Algerian female freedom fighter Jameela Buhayrad. This particular song was also said to have been written in praise of another female Algerian freedom fighter to the name of Fadda, who also joined the Algerian liberation army.
Kabli’s health had deteriorated in recent months to be kept under intensive care in one of the hospitals of the State of Michigan, where he had been living with his family for some years now.
Kabil’s illness was not the concern of just the arts and cultural community. The Council of Ministers had continued to contact him to make sure he was going well.
Kabli had performed lots of songs in both classical Arabic and the Sudanese Arabic dialect as well.
In classical Arabic his song “Shaza Zaher - the scent of flowers”, written by the Egyptian poet-writer-thinker Mahmoud Alaggad, had used to entertain the public for long years. The same applies to his other classics that include “Mazofa li Dirweesh Mutajoil - melody for a roving dervish”, written by Sudanese Poet Mohammad Alfayturi.
Some of his most loved songs were “Meroe”, “Kasala”, “Habeebat Oumeri - the love of my lifetime”, “Ya Duneen Alwaad - Oh! you thrifty one about promises”, “Araka Assi Aldamea - I see you are hard to cry”, “Akadu La Ausdiq - I am about not to believe you”, “Alshiekh Sayrow – a traditional song for a newlywed” and “Shamaa - candle”.
Kabli was a UN Goodwill Ambassador and a holder of Sudanese diplomatic passport in recognition of his role in disseminating Sudanese culture and arts.
See also (https://sudanow-magazine.net/page.php?subId=17&Id=938).
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