Medieval Liturgical Roots and the Documentation of the

Researchers who focus on women in the arts often divide women’s artistic activity into one of two “spheres” of operation, public and private. Of course, women have participated in private sphere musical activities throughout all time. Not only was music-making in private venues such as the home permitted, it was often a social expectation. But until ethnomusicological research became part of the collegiate curriculum, the culturally rich, deep research that explored music in the private sphere was ignored in textbooks and coursework. Music in the private sphere was not deemed worthy of study.