Exploring Women’s History Through Folksongs

LIVE MUSIC EVENT: Exploring Women’s History Through Folksongs at the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster on Friday, October 10 from 1:00—2:00pm. 

Passed down for generations, folk songs provide insights into the lives of ordinary people in centuries past. Diane Taraz mines these traditional songs for clues to the inner lives of people in Europe and America from about 1500 to 1850, especially women. Audiences are fascinated by the way attitudes and beliefs from the past still echo in our lives today. Women left few written records, but we can learn much about them through the music that they used to speed their work, lift their spirits, or ease an aching heart. With a sparkling voice and wry humor, Diane performs songs of love, childbirth, marriage, and adventure. Diane performs in traditional dress and plays lap dulcimer and guitar. She often sings with voice alone, the most authentic style. These are songs that brim with energy and humor, determination and despair, and all the joys and sorrows of a world lit only by fire. Diane is a Boston-based singer, songwriter, historian, and author.