Women's Voices: Hidden Histories

Domestic Music-Making

Women's contributions to folk tradition, often overlooked, prove fundamental. Lullabies (berceuses) transmitted cultural values alongside sleep-inducing melodies. Work songs for spinning, weaving, and washing created rhythm for tedious tasks while building community among workers.

Wedding songs, often bawdy and humorous, allowed women to express sexuality within sanctioned contexts. These songs, passed mother to daughter, preserve female perspectives on marriage, childbirth, and domestic life often absent from official records.

Professional Female Musicians

Though less documented than men, professional female folk musicians existed throughout history. The cantadoras of southern France, vieleuses (hurdy-gurdy players) in central regions, and female bagpipers in various areas challenged gender norms while maintaining traditions.

Contemporary artists like Évelyne Girardon and Françoise Etay continue this tradition, both preserving historical repertoire and creating new works that expand folk music's boundaries.