There are artists who pass away in the prime of their youth, and their greatness is not measured by their age, but rather by the unique imprint they leave behind them, in a time when others may live twice as long, but leave little trace. The late artist Hassan embodies these words, with his short life and great artistic achievements. An artist who passed through the popular world like a shooting star, his short and dense life was summed up in the equation of art and struggle. Al-Shorouk Al-Arabi opens the trilogy of Hassan, the man, the artist, and the fighter.
Hassan, whose real name is Ahsan Larbi Ben Ammar, was born in the ancient Kasbah neighborhood in Algiers, in… 8 December 1929. His humble family comes from a village “Tizi Amour Boumahni“belonging to the municipality of Ain Al-Zawia, near Al-Mizan Arm.
Ahsan felt the burden of poverty and unemployment during colonial times, in his father’s eyes, which were heavy with worries. From an early age, the child sensed the harshness of life. So he used the profession of selling newspapers in the alleys of the capital, to earn a few francs that helped him survive until he obtained his primary education certificate. Despite this great achievement at the time, Ahsan did not complete his education, and worked for a French employer in a stressful and arduous job.
Between groan and groan groans
In the midst of life’s obstacles and hell, the exceptional talent of… “Hassan“ By appearing; So he learned to play the mandolin and percussion himself. He was barely fifteen years old when the sheikh discovered him “Amrawi Maysum“He immediately included him in his band as a percussionist. He took the best advantage of his closeness to the genius Sheikh Al-Maysum, to delve into the secrets of popular music, and to decipher the performances and performances, using an uncanny memory that enabled him to memorize long poems, after reading them once or twice, a skill that was considered almost a miracle in the era of reliance on oral transmission. He drew from Al-Anqi his unlimited mastery of the mandoul and rhythmic discipline, from Sheikh Khalifa Belkacem the generosity of his voice when asked, and from Sheikh Mreizq his charisma on the stage. In a few years, Hassan became one of the recognized sheikhs of the popular people, loud in the cafés of the Kasbah and the neighborhoods of Al-Biar and Koba.
Protector of salt fever
Hassan’s uniqueness was evident in his firm adherence to the originality of the poem Al-Malhoun Al-Jazairi, at a time when the generation of his contemporaries turned towards short, fast rhythmic beats, to adapt to the commercial requirements of records. He chose another path, which was to revive the buried compositions of great poets such as Larbi Al-Miknassi, Al-Akhdar Ben Khalouf, and Ahmed Al-Gharbali, patiently writing them down in Latin letters in a special notebook that he called “Chorus“. In his inspiring career, Sheikh Hussein never appeared with a written text in his hand while singing, and this is an example of the life of the great sheikhs.
Call of the homeland
Hassan was not isolated from the suffering of the people, and when the glorious revolution broke out, he joined the ranks of the National Liberation Front, in the year 1955. His love for his homeland was stronger than any other love, and greater than his mother’s intense love for him, because he was her only one. Despite her pleas for him to stay by her side, he preferred the call of the homeland.
Parisian exile
After his life became in danger, Hassan left for France, and chance brought him together with his teacher, Sheikh Maysum, to live together evenings for workers and immigrants in Parisian cafes. And in April 1957With the announcement of the founding of the artistic band of the National Liberation Front in Tunisia, Hassan was at the forefront of responding to the call, accompanied by his friend and regular percussionist. “Alilo is a bear“who in turn rejected tempting offers from major Egyptian bands to remain loyal to the revolution.
The year-long exile did not isolate the artist, but rather brought him close to struggling artistic elites. The likes of Abdel Halim Rais, Haj Omar, Sayyed Ali Qwert, Yahya bin Mabrouk, and others. His activity reached its peak in the historic concert he performed on 26 January 1958 At the headquarters of the Muslim Students Union (115 Saint Michel Street)He moved smoothly in a crowded hall between popular masterpieces and verses in Amazigh. Only two days after the ceremony, the colonial authorities dissolved the union and stormed the headquarters.
I am a sheikh and you are a sheikh
Hassan’s humanity was evident in his humility and generosity. His student concerts were completely free, and when he sang in cafes, he divided the proceeds equally with all the musicians, going beyond the customs of his time by saying:: “I am a sheikh and you are a sheikh“. In Paris, far from home, he recorded, alone on the mandoul, a poignant narration that he dedicated to his mother, and which was an elegy that predicted his approaching death.
He sang songs in Arabic as a song “I went to fly on Friday“ and“The one who is distracted is distracted by his worries“ And in tribalism “Oh, a bird in a cage“ and“RFDAGH TAPALIST“It tells about the suffering of expatriates and immigrants in foreign countries.
Eternal body exile
In late March 1958Hassan went to Tunisia to join the ranks of the artistic troupe of the National Liberation Front, to undertake Arab tours in Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus, and Beirut to introduce the Algerian cause. There, faced with the exhaustion of travel and exile, his health suddenly deteriorated and he died before his thirtieth birthday. There are many historical accounts about the date of his death. There are those who say that he died in 29 September 1959. There are those who say that he left this world a year ago, that is, in September 1958.
The body of the late artist Hassan was buried in Tunisia, far from his ancient Kasbah, and his remains did not return to the homeland until the year 2012 ; He finally rested in the train cemetery in the capital, in the same grave that contains his mother, for whom he sang from his Parisian exile.
