Радиото като конструктор на реалност. Ролята на музиката
The Radio as a Constructor of Reality. The Role of Music

Summary/Abstract: In the series of the author’s publications, presenting results of her studies of some present tradition-based forms of the musical culture of the Lusatian Sorbs in Germany, this article stands out in a specific way: it features a cultural institution which is a child of modernity. The subjects of this study are the radio broadcasts in Sorbian Lusatian, more specifically in the Upper Sorbian Language. These broadcasts are produced by Radio Bautz en which is part of the Mitt eldeutscher Rundfunk, MDR, based in Dresden. After a short review of the history of the radio broadcasting in Sorbian, the author analyses its current 3-hour-long morning programme whose format is “Accompanying radio”. The musical part of the broadcasts conceptually follows the cultural policy of the institution to the Sorbian-Lusatian language (threatened by extinction): no broadcasting of German/German language music as the music of the assimilating culture. The basic rule is to have on air a Sorbian song at least every 15 minutes. The international part of the musical programme consists mainly of English songs, as well as of songs of the neighbouring Slavic cultures – the Czech and the Polish cultures. A special emphasis is put on the role of Radio Bautz en as a constructor of a live and dynamic Sorbian-Lusatian culture, which is non-existent as such in reality, both as a routine and as a fine art. Due to this institution, a contact with the “mother” culture is maintained by the citizens living in Lausitz , which is situated in Eastern Germany, who otherwise have stopped using the Upper-Lusatian language as a means of communication.

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