These ocean crossings gave birth to a new society


Jardins Migrateurs is a new CD from Montreal-based Ensemble Constantinople (Iranian setar and tombak, and viola da gamba) and Sengalese kora master Ablaye Cissoko - sample the album here. The title refers to the travelling gardens - jardins migrateurs - that invoked paradise in Persian culture. These travelling gardens found expression in the walled gardens of Moroccan riads and reached their apogee in Granada's Alhambra. Setar player Kiya Tabassian's note for the track Traversées (Crossings) contains a very important message:
Drawn from the manuscript Luz, y Norte by travelling musician Ruiz de Ribayaz, together with a traditional piece, this work is dedicate to the thousands of migrants who left Africa for the New World during the colonial era. These ocean crossings gave birth to a new society. The destiny of mankind lies in its quest for the new.
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