Will we hear Fairuz's voice and Ziad's tunes again?
On the plane back to Beirut, I usually do not like to watch movies, and I prefer to listen to songs, and of course, involuntarily or even voluntarily, I tend to listen to classics of Western music and songs of Tarab from the good old days, this time my choice fell on a group of songs for the pinnacle of authentic art... Fairuz, and the selections were from songs that Fairuz collaborated on with her son, the artist Ziad Rahbani, and among them were songs that I imagined I was hearing for the first time, or that the atmosphere of calm and Fairuz’s voice above the clouds made me enjoy the songs, melodies, and spontaneous words, and Fairuz’s voice glowing with tenderness and ecstasy made me feel the joy of discovering her again.
The collaboration between Fairuz and Ziad produced beautiful works that, while it is true, changed Fairuz’s artistic appearance, but they had their own taste and distinction. With the end of the recordings, I had to return to reality. Ziad decided to immigrate and leave the country, and his relationship with his mother and some members of his family was tense, so it was difficult for the artistic meeting between them to return, especially since the circumstances of production, financing, regional circumstances, and the lack of stability were all factors that make their meeting difficult.
But I say again that the mother's feelings are what will win in the end and Fairuz will not tolerate the continuation of the separation between them. It is true that she was angry when Ziad spoke about her political opinion, which sparked a lot of talk, and she is right to be angry. After all the factors of vertical division in Lebanon, Fairuz's name should not be mentioned except in the context of love, art and beauty. In the midst of the civil war, Fairuz's voice was a symbol of Lebanon's unity, as she sang "I love you, Lebanon", which was repeated with her by all the Lebanese people. Days passed and this story was supposed to be forgotten and things should return to their human and artistic course.
In these difficult and bad days on all levels, there may be a new artistic collaboration between Fairuz and Ziad, stirring up the stagnant pool of art, filled with many auditory pollutants. The meeting may take place and the collaboration may take place. Let us hope...