By Elie Hourani
Daily Star staff

One of Lebanon’s most prominent composers, Zaki Nassif, died of a heart attack on Thursday at the age of 88. For 60 years, Nassif played a significant part in developing and propagating Lebanese folk music around the world.
The singer composed and sang “Lebanon will be rebuilt,” a song which urged the Lebanese to reconstruct their country after the devastating 1975-1990 civil war.
President Emile Lahoud has expressed sorrow at the artist’s death, describing him as one of those who founded “the real Lebanese songs and tunes.”
Born in 1916 in the Eastern Bekaa town of Mashghara, Nassif studied music at the American University of Beirut in the 1930s before starting his career as author, composer and singer at Radio-Orient.
He also helped to launch the prestigious Baalbek International Festival in 1955 before founding the Al-Anwar folk band.
He is to be given a national farewell at a funeral service Saturday at 11.00am at the Melchite bishopric, Damascus Road.
Condolences can be paid to Nassif’s family at that Church on Saturday or Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday, condolences will be accepted at the Mashghara church.
The Professional Artists Association has expressed grief for the loss of the great artist, who composed or sang more than 2000 folk songs in a career spanning 60 years, during which he helped found the National Conservatory of Music and other private conservatories.
In a statement, the association said Nassif had “tried hard, throughout his life, to found a special association for music composers in Lebanon.
“He tried to convey the musical message to all Arab countries,” the statement said. It added that Nassif was regarded as the association’s “honorary father.”
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has called Nassif’s family by telephone from Doha, where he is on an official visit to Qatar, to pay his condolences.
Nassif’s late mother, purported to have a beautiful voice of her own, was a great influence on hi, as she used to sing and hum folk tunes while doing the housework.
In the 1920s, Nassif and his family moved to the lower Metn, the Ain al-Rummaneh, where he lived most of his life.
He loved music and songs and began composing and singing at an early age. He used to memorize songs and sing in school ceremonies. People liked his voice.
At AUB, he met some fellow musicians studying there. The majority of his teachers were Russian. However, some of them were Lebanese, and had graduated from the same academy. Later Nassif took lessons from a prominent French music teacher at the time, Bertrand Robillard.
Zaki’s professional career began at the Lebanese National Radio Station and later at the Near East Radio Station.
He was associated with such famous composers as the Brothers (Assi and Mansour) Rahbani and Philemon Wehbi. With them, and later with Tewfik Basha, he founded the Group of Five.
They wanted to steer away from the most popular tunes, which were at the time inspired from the Bedouin life.
In 1957, the five launched the Baalbek annual Festival, which used to take place in summer. Their first work was “Wedding in a village.”