Abd-al Hayy Hilmî was born circa 1857 in Bani Suwayf, Middle Egypt. He was able to meet the greatest voices of the late 19th century during the private concerts organized by his employer, a wealthy Alexandrian merchant. Through constant contact with the millieu, he eventually mastered a large repertoire, ranging from adwâr composed by court-patronized musicians to qâsida - classical poems, which were introduced into secular music by former sûfî cantors... Not quite as aristocratically oriented as Hamûlî or Manyalâwî, Hilmî was among the first major singers to perform for paying audiences in outdoor public concerts or in the prestigious café-chantants of Azbakiyya Square in Cairo. He was nevertheless a dazzling attraction for upper-class salons, and sung for Ottoman princes in 1910.A seductive coqquettish man, whose stylish Parisian tastes ruined his protectors, Abd al-Havy was to become the spoilt child of Egyptian high society at the turn of the century... An inveterate drinker, he would use various drugs to reach the state of saltana, necessary to unleash his extemporizing creativity. He died in Alexandria in 1912, after heavily overindulging in turtle and liquor during a feast.
Abd al-Hayy exposes the compositions to his own mania, summing up the introduction, livening up the composed thread of the melody, neglecting entire sections of the canvas so as to privilege one verse, one standstill in a particular modal color, to which he adds a tragic and hallucinated touch, displaying a wide range of virtuosistic effects shifting from long melodic phrases to a jerky staccato, interrupting the instruments with another dramatic piece of embroidery over the heady main theme... His lack of respect for rhythm and composition is well-known, and laid him open to harsh criticism from Rigorists... His ardor naturally finds its best expression in mawwâls, where the non-metrical improvisation in the framework of a maqâm is the only rule. In this field he remains unmatchable. This CD includes a selection of early tracks, dating 1908-1910.
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