Re-presenting a performance from our present vantage point is difficult. To complicate matters, the compact discs released by Sono Cairo, the Egyptian state record company, are not always the same performances available on cassettes from the same company in Cairo. Videos of performances present similar problems. Those available in North America originate from many sources, most unidentified, and one has to simply watch each one to know whether the quality of the reproduction is acceptable and whether the performance is particularly affective. With these caveats in mind, listening to this music is wonderful and rewarding.
Arabic song is one of the world's great classical traditions.
Umm Kulth m's recordings bring us closer to knowing this art.