Where the kora and the setar meet, the whole world is held in two strings.

Over 40 years, the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique has brought together talents and cultures tirelessly, without borders or distance. Improbable encounters sparked by the fusion of chords and artistic visions. Iran and Senegal become one through the deeply melodious album Estuary, born from the interplay of two astonishing musicians. Kiya Tabassian — pillar of the Constantinople ensemble, singer and virtuoso of the setar, a centuries-old plucked lute — and Ablaye Cissoko, kora-playing griot and standard-bearer of Teranga. A brotherhood of more than a decade between the ambassador of Persian instrumental music and the Mandinka singer-songwriter, audible in their harmonies that invite contemplation and carry a touch of melancholy.

He carries the title of “keeper of memory.” A brilliant self-taught musician who adopted Quebec as a teenager, Kiya Tabassian transcends countless stories woven from the simple touch of four strings. A dazzling improviser, he transports us with delight from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance in a single chord. Constantinople has amassed an impressive 25 albums, works celebrated for over a decade across nearly 300 cities in some sixty countries — a remarkable feat for an ensemble drawing its references from the ancient city that bridges East and West.

Between Kimintang Mahamadou Cissoko and Kiya Tabassian, the fusion is unmistakable, transcending time itself. For the third time, the two virtuosos face each other and draw from one another through this maritime dialogue of setar, kora, and voice. Praised by Le Monde as “a rare pleasure: music one has never heard before,” the Tabassian-Cissoko duo delivers on Estuary a message of abundance and renewal through Nature — a wondrous meeting point between the Karoun River and the Casamance River.