Official memorial service at the Opera House... Egyptian culture celebrates the legacy of the late Hani Shaker
The Egyptian Ministry of Culture intends to organize a special memorial concert for the late artist Hani Shaker soon at the Grand Theater in the Egyptian Opera House, in honor of the artist nicknamed “Prince of Arab Singing”, who passed away last Sunday, leaving behind a rich musical legacy of artistic works, and a career that spanned more than six decades.
Egyptian Minister of Culture, Dr. Gihan Zaki, stated in a press release carried by Egyptian media that the ministry's organization of the memorial service stems from the fact that Hani Shaker "was not merely a fleeting voice in the annals of Arabic song, but rather an extension of an entire era of refined art." She added that the deceased left behind a legacy that will remain present in the memory of Arab culture for many years to come.
The Egyptian Minister of Culture affirmed that Hani Shaker’s voice was distinguished by an exceptional ability to express human emotions with simplicity and depth at the same time, considering that his artistic presence went beyond the limits of the traditional love song to a space more connected to the conscience of the Arab public, which explains the continuation of his influence across successive generations.
She added that the memorial service will not just be a farewell to a great artist, but a tribute of loyalty and appreciation for an exceptional artistic career that formed an important part of the memory of the Arab listener, and contributed to preserving the features of the classic Egyptian song in the face of the rapid transformations that the music scene has witnessed during the last decades.
According to music critics, Hani Shaker has released more than 30 albums, in addition to more than 600 songs, since his artistic debut in 1972 with the song “Helwa Ya Donya” composed by the late musician Mohamed El Mougy. He continued to perform on stages and at concerts inside and outside Egypt until the last weeks before his recent health crisis.
The late Hani Shaker is seen as one of the last bridges that connected the generation of classical Tarab, represented by Abdel Halim Hafez, Mohamed Abdel Wahab and Umm Kulthum, with the generation of modern contemporary song, which emerged in the late seventies of the last century, with names such as Mohamed Mounir, Ali El Haggar, Afaf Radi and the Egyptian band led by Hani Shenouda.
Hani Shaker passed away on May 3rd at the age of 73, inside Foch Hospital in France, after weeks of treatment that did not witness any improvement in his health condition, following his suffering from acute respiratory failure that required him to be placed on artificial respirators for several days.
His body was returned to Egypt through coordination between the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French Consulate in Paris, and the relevant authorities in France. His body was carried from the Abu Shaqqa Mosque in the Sheikh Zayed neighborhood of Sixth of October City in a funeral attended by dozens of his fans and colleagues in the artistic community, in a solemn farewell scene that also sparked widespread controversy due to the absence of some popular singing stars from the funeral ceremony.