Between Authenticity and Institutionalisation. Folk Music and Radiojournal Broadcasting in Czechoslovakia in 1930s
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Since its beginnings in 1923, radio broadcasting in Czechoslovakia has been incorporating various musical genres into its broadcasts to reach wide a section of society as possible. This is evidenced not only through the documents showing the programmes composition, but also partial sociological surveys among the listeners who – to paraphrase Karel Vetterl, a music editor at the time and a prominent figure in relation to this study – sought rather entertainment and carefree listening. Radio broadcasting in the 1930s, run by the Radiojournal company, therefore partly adapted its programme offer to the demand and prepared programmes on folk music of either popular, documentary or entertaining focus. It was not uncommon for Radiojournal staff to go directly to the field – a remarkable circumstance is that the listeners themselves recommended talented yet not formally trained singers and musicians from the regions. From contemporary perspective and with knowledge of the development of folk music in today’s Czech Republic, we can consider how much radio broadcasting and its activities influenced the regions and contributed to the transformation and perception of folk music in back-then Czechoslovakia. This study discusses the above-mentioned aspects of radio broadcasting and the application of folk music, including the wider social context and the development of folkloristics. Primarily, it focuses on broadcasts from the Brno radio station, which was the driving force behind the discussed tendencies. Furthermore, the paper outlines post-war development in the successor organisation Czechoslovak Radio (now Czech Radio) that is still partially kept in various transformations. |
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