IRAB Association for Arabic Music and Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture are pleased to invite you to the launch of "Female Singing Stars of the Lebanese 40s", a book by Mahmoud Zibawi and As'ad Makhoul, funded by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture — AFAC.

"This book introduces you to the world of famous female singers of the 1940s in Lebanon and presents you with detailed information about their daily lives. Twelve singers are featured in this book: Nour al-Huda, Sabah, Siham Rifqi, Nourhan, Nahawand, Souad Mohammad, Najah Salam, Nazek, Zakia Hamdan, Hanan, Odette Kaado, and Bahia Wehbe who later took the name of “Wadad” after marrying Toufic al-Basha the great musician. In brief, this book sheds the light on an unknown period of time when Lebanese singing started emerging prior to the great musical and lyrical renaissance on the mid 1950s through a detailed archive of posters and magazines from that era. It is an effort that seeks to bridge the huge gap in literature about singing in Lebanon and its development, and it can serve as reference for any study focusing on the topic and examining in a detailed manner the events of that important era." — Elias Sahhab

IRAB was founded in order to address the striking lack of awareness concerning the rich Oriental musical heritage and contemporary production of Oriental music. It aims to collect music from hobbyists and from the public sector. Its methodology of work is to compile these music records and migrate them to digital technology, thus building an archive and making it accessible to the public. In addition, IRAB works towards enhancing the promotion, production, and distribution of Oriental music, supporting contemporary local artists in their visibility, reproducing old records and engaging the public through concerts.