Ezzedine Al-Amir… the pioneer of the human song in Syria
The artist lives with an obsession to communicate his artistic message and keeps striving to show his inner thoughts, hoping to fulfill his desired goal. The artist poet and composer Ezzedine El-Amir has pursued an art that adheres to the issues of Syrian and Arab society, as all the lyrical works he presented in cooperation with a large number of Syrian and Arab poets, are dedicated to creating a new style in the Syrian song that he insists to call it the “Human Song”.
“I was raised in an environment with genuine values inhabited by compassionate, tolerant people who love the earth, beauty and truth, and wish good for all humanity. This made me more sensitive to people’s joys, hopes and pain, which I seek to express in songs and ideas produced musically that address the heart, feelings, thought and mind to contribute to the building of the True Man,” El-Amir stated to the Syria times e-newspaper.
About his artistic beginnings, El-Amir says, “I loved singing since my childhood without knowing its rules and origins. The neighbors used to call me “the mountain singer” even before I entered school, because I used to sing loudly. I used to sing with my classmates at school parties. My talent was admired and supported by teachers and parents. I have tried to improve my talent and acquire skill through hard work and academic study, but my struggle with the difficult circumstances of my life did not give me the opportunity to study art academically.”
“At the age of fifteen I became responsible for myself after the death of my parents. Thus, the struggle for a living became more important and urgent than the fulfillment of hobbies and ambitions, but I did not give up and worked as hard as I could to develop myself and refine my talent. I enrolled in private institutes and courses, where I learned the principles of singing and musical scales (Maqamat), started to write poetry and learnt to play the oud.
In fact, many of my friends who realized the importance of developing people’s artistic taste have supported me in the most details of my daily and artistic life alike. I have more than 150 songs; twenty of them are for children. Currently, I am preparing a new set of songs entitled “I’m not a singer”, he added.
Regarding the topics he deals with in his songs, El-Amir stressed, “We deal with several topics that reflect the different situations that people go through. We focus on the word that carries value, meaning, and spiritual pleasure that depicts a human concern and a societal issue, to achieve the “humanitarian song. We strive through our art to spread the culture of accepting the other, encouraging love and rejecting violence,” he clarified.
Talking about his participation in local and foreign art festivals, the artist said that he has participated in many local festivals, including the National Singing Festival “Kithara Watan”, the second Damascus Countryside Cultural Festival, in addition to his participation in the Fourth Afro-Asian Festival of Cultures in Morocco which was held under the slogan “Creators Without Borders”. El-Amir has received several honorary certificates from the Syrian Ministry of Culture, Souria and Al-Arab magazine, the Arab Creators Association, a Friendship Shield, and an honorary doctorate from the Palestinian Supreme Council of Media.
“Before being an artist or composer, I was a simple person who expresses his inner feelings through a sincere heartfelt word that reflects people’s concerns.
We are really in need to heal the wounds and preserve the hearts after the blood that was shed, the souls that were destroyed, and the love that disappeared during the wartime. I hope peace prevails all over the world,” El-Amir concluded.
Reported by Amal Farhat