Fayrouz Al Halabiya

Fayrouz Al Halabiya فيروز الحلبية
Birth name	Rachel Samocha
Also known as	Fairuz Mamish
Born	1895 Aleppo, Syria
Origin	Syria
Died	1955 (aged 59–60)
Genres	Arabic music
Occupation	Singer
Instruments	Vocals oud
Spouse	Hussein Awni Pasha

Rachel Samocha (1895–1955), known professionally as Fayrouz Al Halabiya (Arabic: فيروز الحلبية, lit. 'Fairouz of Aleppo') or Fairuz Mamish (فيروز ماميش), was a Syrian singer, who was mainly active in Damascus, Beirut and Cairo. Lebanese singer Nouhad Haddad, known as Fairuz, adopted the stage name as a sign of admiration for her.

Biography

She was born in Aleppo to a Jewish family, and resided in Al Jamiliyeh neighborhood. She worked mainly in Damascus, Beirut and Cairo. She was also a talented oud player, and recorded several songs accompanied by the famous violinist Sami al-Shawa and the Jewish oud player Shehadeh Saada. She was also the teacher of Salih Almuhabik, the singer who represented Syria at the International Arab Music Congress held in Cairo in 1932 and who performed with her in Iraq.

She is also remembered from an event in 1920 in which the song, "Ye Malikaan Ezz Nasran" ("Oh Great Victorious King", that was composed by Aleppo musician Ahmed El-Oubry), became famous after she sang it in honor of the king of Arab Kingdom of Syria (who later became king Faisal I of Iraq) when he visited Aleppo. She also sang the national anthem before him: "I saw the sun after it shone. I was fascinated by her beautiful looks and asked the full moon who he loved fiercely, and he complained and cried: the love of the homeland."

She married Turkish officer Hussein Awni Pasha and traveled to Istanbul in the 1940s and lived there.

She died in 1955.