Syrian singer Samih Shqair has recently performed a concert at Beirut based al Madinah Theater under the title Enshad al Intifada (Uprising Anthem), according to the daily al Hayat.
It has become apparent that the pressing developments in Palestine were the main reasons behind this committed singer to enter the spotlight and interact with a mostly youth audience. As a result of the Palestinian daily tragedies, this audience has revived some of the previous struggle and leftist environments after a phase during which the political song was put on the shelf.
Without appearing on the TV or any strong media support, Shqair succeeded in attracting an audience which started growing in number after the release of his first cassette entitled Liman Oghanni (To Whom I Should Sing) in mid eighties. This audience has been formed over several years and mostly comprised of university students, the class of people, which attended his recent concert in Beirut and appeared to have memorized his songs. These include Heih Ya Sajjani (My Jailer), En E’sht Fae’sh Horran (If You Live, Live Free), and Law Rahal Sawti, Mabterhal Hanajirkom (If My Voice Goes, Your Voices Won’t Go).
Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the disappearance of the Arab left wing as a party, political and intellectual example, the direct and committed political song faded in general. For example the Lebanese artist Marcel Khalifa turned to music composition and returned recently to performing concerts in an attempt to combine between music composition and political pulse. Others such as the Lebanese artists Khaled al Haber, Sami Hawwat and Ahmed Kaabour engaged in different music interests despite their political, emotional and humanitarian interests which remained in their conscience -- Albawaba.com
