In the Czechoslovakia of the 1950s, traditional folk music was officially presented as the most important resource of national musical identity. Folk- or folk-inspired music was ubiquitous. Although this intensity had subsided in the following decades, the role of folk music as a symbol of national identity remained strong until the end of the communist rule in 1989. While the ideology of nationalism used folk music as its tool, it also influenced the way this music was collected, researched, and presented. The article presents examples from two closely related areas to document this phenomenon: folk music research and folk music revival. A closer look reveals how the idea of state-promoted nationalism influenced the ways researchers presented their findings, how they filtered out material that was deemed unsuitable for publication, and how traditional music was revived on stage or in media by folk music and dance ensembles. Critical analysis of research materials and audiovisual documents from the 1950s and 1960s will show how censorship accompanied a folk song from its collection in the field, through publication, to a stylized production on stage or in film.
Visions of Diversity: Cultural Pluralism and the Nation in the Folk Music Revival Movement of the United States and Canada, 1958–65
