Dawood Hussnei

Dawood Hussnei, also spelled Dawood Hosni, Dawoud Housni,Dawood Hosny, was an Egyptian musician and composer born in 1870 in Cairo to a Karaite Jewish family. His father, Khidr Hossnei, was a jeweler; his mother was of bedouin origin.

Biography

Dawood was apprenticed to a bookbinder, Sukkar Bookshop at the age of ten; a customer, Sheikh Mohammed Abdu, encouraged him to study music and singing. His father did not want him to become a musician but he traveled to Mansoura, where he studied under the composer Mohammed Sahabaari. He learned composition and oud, and when he returned to Cairo, sang the compositions of Sheikh Mohammad Abdelrahim (known as al-Masloub). At the age of twenty, he composed in the forms of adwar, taqtaqa, and qasida, imitating the singing style of Mohammed Uthman. In 1932 he was selected to record the works of Mohammed Uthman.He was also the composer of the first Egyption opera, "Samson and Delilah".

Dawood Hussnei composed ensembles for many theatrical musicals for Ukasha, Muneera al-Mahdia, Naguib al-Rihani, Ali al-Kassar, and Muhammed Bahgat, such as "Marouf al-Askafee", "Sabah", "al Brensissah", "al Layalee al Milah", and "al Ghandoura". He was also a teacher to Umm Kulthum and Amal al-Atrash whom he called "Asmahan".Hussnei's first wife, Qamar ('Moon') died young. It is possible he composed the song 'Qamar al Layli' ('Moon of Many Nights'in the maqam rast) in her honor. He married a second time, in 1920 and had two children, neither of whom became professional musicians. The last professional work Hussnei did was for a musical program for the National Radio Station. He died in 1937.

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