Barbara Strozzi was a singer and composer of madri- gals, arias, and cantatas published in Venice between 1644 and 1664. Her use of these vocal forms places her directly within the cantata tradition of the mid-seven- (5) teenth century, along with such major figures as Rossi, Carissimi, and Cesti. With the notable exception of Francesca Caccini (1587 – c. 1640), she is the only known woman among the many aria and cantata composers of seventeenth-century Italy, and is, presumably, among the (10) very few women of the period to have pursued a career as a composer and to have achieved some measure of public recognition. This historical distinction attracted attention to her works early in the present century, even when the music (15) of most of her male contemporaries, and,indeed, most women composers of any era, remained relatively ignored. But appreciation of her style was limited by pre- vailing convention to an isolation of its supposedly femi- nine qualities: “great spontaneity, exquisite grace, mar- (20) velously fine taste.” Such an appreciation now appears irrelevant as well as polemical in its incompleteness because we are in a better position – with regard to both historical knowledge and social awareness – to attempt a more precise evaluation of a somewhat anomalous fig- (25) ure like Barbara Strozzi. Born in 1619 in Venice, she grew up in the home of Giulio Strozzi, a renowned poet and leading figure among Venetian intellectuals. Barbara’s presence in Giulio’s household guaranteed her and early and full (30) exposure to Venetian musical and literary society. Indeed, she was able to enter a world that was, appar- ently, closed to other members of her sex. Similarly, Francesca Caccini, the most prominent and successful Italian woman composer of the period, was the daughter (35) of professional musicians and therefore exposed to music for infancy. This parallel suggests that such an envi- ronment may have been essential for the development of a female composer. But though Strozzi’s music certainly shares fully (40) the aesthetic aim of her contemporaries, and of the baroque in general – to move the passions - her life and her work distinguishes her form these contemporaries in vari- ous ways. Whereas other composers sought (and found) a public forum for their effective expression in the the- (45) ater and the Church, her world remained more private. Strozzi was a singer in Venice, surrounded by opera librettists and impresarios at a time when opera was the main cultural interest of a large segment of Venetian society, yet she apparently never sang in opera, nor did (50) she write an opera. She is not a composer of dramatic works; her songs are addressed to a more intimate audi- ence, expressing less the feeling of fictive characters than her own: “These harmonic notes,” she writes, “are the language of the soul, and instruments of the heart.” 1 1. According to the passage, Barbara Strozzi’s music attracted attention early in the twentieth century because of A) Its uniquely private character B) Its influence on Francesca Caccini C) The scarcity of seventeenth-century women composers D) The conventionality of its forms E) The historical importance of Giulio Strozzi. 2 2. The author’s use of word “supposedly” in the line 18 implies which of the following? A) The author doubts the historical authenticity of the quotation that follows. B) The author doubts the accuracy of the facts she is reporting. C) The author disagrees with the judgment she is discussing. D) The author does not believe that Stozzi’s music has the qualities cited in the quotation. E) The author is not sure of the significance of the quotation. 3 3. With which of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree? A) The music of the seventeenth-century Italy is less frequently performed today than it was 50 years ago. B) Contemporary music historians no longer discuses the music of a given composer in terms of its particular individual style. C) The cantata tradition of seventeenth-century Italy is much better understood today than it ever has been. D) Late-twentieth-century music historians have more accurate historical information than their early-twentieth-century counterparts. E) Music historians of the early twentieth century were uninterested in the details of social life in seventeenth-century Venetian musical circles. 4 4. The author of the passage bases her assertion that Strozzi is one of the very few seventeenth-century Italian women composers (lines 7-12) on which of the following assumptions? A) Public recognition is an indispensable part of a career as a composer. B) Strozzi and Caccini were influenced by the same composers. C) The music of any woman composer whom her seventeenth-century contemporaries regarded as noteworthy would be known to modern scholars. D) The cantata tradition of the mid-seventeenth-century includes composers and performers of madrigals and arias as well as cantatas. E) More women pursued careers as composers in seventeenth-century Italy than is evident from music published in the seventeenth-century. 5 5. The author of the passage implies that which of the following was most essential to the success of both Francesca Caccini and Barbara Strozzi? (A) Their presence in Venice at a time when vocal music flourished (B) Their early firsthand exposure to music and musicians (C) The lack of competition from other composers (D) The popularity of madrigals and cantatas in seventeenth-century Italy (E) The uniqueness of the musical forms they created 6 6. It can be inferred from the passage that all of the following made Barbara Strozzi "a somewhat anomalous figure" (lines 24-25) EXCEPT: (A) She was a woman composer during the seven teenth century. (B) She was intimately involved in Venetian literary and musical society. (C) She did not write dramatic works for voice. (D) She did not perform operatic works. (E) She wrote moving baroque vocal works. 7 7. The author of the passage implies that composers of Italian baroque music typically (A) composed more operas than cantatas (B) preferred sacred to secular musical forms (C) aspired to reach large segments of the public with their works (D) avoided emotional expression in their works (E) wrote music for solo voices rather than for choral ensembles 8 8. The author of the passage quotes Barbara Strozzi in lines 53-54 most probably in order to A) Support the claim that strozzi’s works are self-revealing B) Qualify the point concerning strozzi’s dramatic work C) Illustrate Strozzi’s confident approach to her art D) Show why Strozzi avoided opera as both composer and performer E) Suggest that Strozzi’s viewpoint was typical of baroque musicians 9 9. The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions? A) What was the exact family relationship between Giulio Strozzi and Barbara Strozzi? B) What is the evidence that indicates that Barbara Strozzi never sang in an opera? C) Were Barbara strozzi’s compositions know to her contemporaries? D) Did Barbara Storzzi know Francesca Caccini? E) What instruments provide the accompaniment for Barbara Strozzi’s vocal works? RC from 1990 Paper Test JOURNAL ARTICLE Barbara Strozzi, "virtuosissima cantatrice": The Composer's Voice Ellen Rosand Journal of the American Musicological Society Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer, 1978), pp. 241-281 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological Society DOI: 10.2307/830997 https://www.jstor.org/stable/830997 Page Count: 41 rosand1978.pdf

You eliminated D because you felt the 20th-century comparison was out of scope. Bur, look at this passage structure: Lines 14-20 (EARLY 20th century scholars): "This historical distinction attracted attention to her works early in the present century " Their view: isolated "feminine qualities" - "spontaneity, exquisite grace" Assessment: LIMITED, INCOMPLETE Lines 20-25 (LATE 20th century - "now"): "Such an appreciation now appears irrelevant" " we are in a better position – with regard to both historical knowledge and social awareness" Assessment: MORE COMPLETE, MORE ACCURATE The phrase "early in the present century" (line 14) → early 1900s The phrase "now" (line 20) → later 1900s (when passage was written) The passage explicitly contrasts: THEN (early 20th century): limited historical knowledge → incomplete appreciation NOW (late 20th century): "better position" with "historical knowledge" → more precise evaluation This is a direct, literal comparison between early-twentieth-century and late-twentieth-century music historians.

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Barbara Strozzi was a singer and composer of madrigals

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09 May 2025, 14:32

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Question 3

Ngocanhvy

Q3: With which of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?

D) Late-twentieth-century music historians have more accurate historical information than their early-twentieth-century counterparts.

we all know the explaination to this question lied in the part "because we are in a better position ..."

but i think "now" means the time when the author wrote the passage, how can you guys know that time is late 20th century?

please help me!

Check out the first sentence of the second paragraph:

Quote:

"This historical distinction attracted attention to her works early in the present century."

The word "present" indicates that the author is writing later in that same century.

To be fair, the passage doesn't specifically tell us what that same century is, but keep in mind that this passage is from a 1990 paper test, when it would have made sense to refer to the early 20th century as "early in the present century."

More importantly, you can use POE to eliminate the other options.

Still not convinced? Well, this question was retired decades ago, so don't sweat it too much.

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In ques 3, option D is correct because of the line which says "Such an appreciation now appears irrelevant as well as polemical in its incompleteness because we are in a better position – with regard to both historical knowledge and social awareness – to attempt a more precise evaluation of a somewhat anomalous figure like Barbara Strozzi" , BUT the passage nowhere mentions - Late-twentieth-century and early-twentieth-century. Why should we assume the comparison between the beginning and end of some century which is not even discussed in the passage. I mean if the comparison would have been say between seventeenth century (which the passage is about) vs twentieth, then it would have made sense, but here talking about the comparison between same century while the info piece is of seventeenth century so are we assuming that the knowledge gap is constant and it keeps on increasing with passage of time? basically i eliminated this choice just because of the word twentieth century.
Could you please guide me how should i correct the flaw in my reasoning?

Thanks
GMATNinja

GMATNinja

Let's go through your questions one at a time:

Question 2

Take another look at the piece of the passage relevant to question 2:

In saying "supposedly feminine qualities", the author is not doubting that Strozzi's music contains the listed qualities. She is doubting that those qualities are feminine. The word "supposedly" shows that the author disagrees with the prevailing views of Strozzi's works because they were limited by a gender-biased viewpoint. This is expressed in answer choice (C):

Answer (C) is correct for question 2.

With this analysis in mind, read answer choice (D):

The author states that earlier appreciation of Strozzi's music was "irrelevant and polemical in its incompleteness." This is different than stating that the music did not actually contain the cited qualities-- it just means that the author considers a sole focus on the music's "supposedly feminine qualities" to be an incomplete evaluation of Strozzi's work. (D) is out.

Question 8

Let's take another look at the quote in question, along with its context in the passage:

Here, the author sets up a comparison between Strozzi's music and that of her contemporaries. The two points of comparison in this section are:

Strozzi's work addresses a more intimate audience, and
Strozzi's music expresses more of her own feelings, whereas the music of her contemporaries expresses more the feelings of fictive characters

Take a look at answer choice (C) in light of this comparison:

From the above analysis, we can see that the quote has nothing to do with confidence. We also do not know if the author would consider intimate and self-expressive music more or less confident than the dramatic works of Strozzi's contemporaries. We can eliminate (C).

Now, here is answer choice (A):

This is a good fit, because Strozzi's music expresses "her own feelings," in contrast to the music of her contemporaries, which expresses the feelings of fictive characters. (A) is the correct answer for question 8.

Question 9

For answer choice (A) to be correct, we would need to know "the exact family relationship between Giulio Strozzi and Barbara Strozzi." From the passage, we know that Strozzi "grew up in the home of Giulio Strozzi, a renowned poet" which "guaranteed her and early and full exposure to Venetian musical and literary society." This is compared to Francesca Caccini, who "was the daughter of professional musicians and therefore exposed to music from infancy." The author concludes that "this parallel suggests that such an environment may have been essential for the development of a female composer."

In saying that the situations of the two composers are "similar," the author is highlighting that both women had early exposure to music, not that they were both the daughters of prominent musicians. This is clear from the phrase "such an environment."

The passage only tells us that Barbara grew up in Giulio's house, which absolutely does not tell us the exact family relationship between the two. Maybe Giulio is her grandfather, or her uncle, or her cousin. Maybe they have the same last name but aren't related at all! The point is, we don't know based on the passage. We cannot infer the exact relationship between Barbara and Giulio Strozzi, so (A) is out.

The evidence for (C), on the other hand, is strong: Strozzi " achieved some measure of public recognition" for her work, and therefore her "compositions [were] known to her contemporaries." (C) is the right answer for question 9.

I hope that helps!

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You eliminated D because you felt the 20th-century comparison was out of scope.

Bur, look at this passage structure:

Lines 14-20 (EARLY 20th century scholars):

"This historical distinction attracted attention to her works early in the present century"
Their view: isolated "feminine qualities" - "spontaneity, exquisite grace"
Assessment: LIMITED, INCOMPLETE

Lines 20-25 (LATE 20th century - "now"):

"Such an appreciation now appears irrelevant"
"we are in a better position – with regard to both historical knowledge and social awareness"
Assessment: MORE COMPLETE, MORE ACCURATE

The phrase "early in the present century" (line 14) → early 1900s The phrase "now" (line 20) → later 1900s (when passage was written)

The passage explicitly contrasts:

THEN (early 20th century): limited historical knowledge → incomplete appreciation
NOW (late 20th century): "better position" with "historical knowledge" → more precise evaluation

This is a direct, literal comparison between early-twentieth-century and late-twentieth-century music historians.

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fair GMATNinja
but how can we say "modern scholars"

GMATNinja

redskull1 made a really good point about the wording of the answer choices!

I'd just like to elaborate on why (C) is an absolutely necessary assumption, while (A) is not.

Take a look at (A):

The author's evidence that Strozzi is one of the very few female composers is certainly tied to public recognition. Here is the evidence from the passage:

"she is the only known woman among the many aria and cantata composers of seventeenth-century Italy," and
"[Strozzi is] among the very few women of the period to have pursued a career as a composer and to have achieved some measure of public recognition."

However, does the author need to assume that public recognition is an indispensable part of anyone's career as a composer? As redskull1 pointed out, that is a very strong claim and is not 100% necessary in order for the author to assert that Strozzi, in particular, was one of the few female Italian composers of her time.

Compare that to (C):

This answer choice specifically addresses a gap in the evidence presented above. The author says that Strozzi is on of "very few women of the period... to have achieved some measure of public recognition," and that she is the only woman (with one exception) known by modern scholars to have composed certain kinds of music. So, how does the author know that the few women composers known to modern scholars are the only ones who actually achieved public recognition in their own time?

The author must assume that if a composer achieved public recognition in her own time, modern scholars would know about that composer. Otherwise, there could be droves of female composers who achieved public recognition, but records of their achievements have been lost in the intervening centuries. Because the author must assume the information in this answer choice, (C) is our answer.

I hope that helps!

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The Doubt: How can we say "modern scholars" when the passage doesn't use that phrase?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Key Word: "Known"

Quote:

"she is the only known woman among the many aria and cantata composers"

Ask: Known to whom?
This is a modern text about 17th-century history. When it says "known," it means known to us today = known to modern scholars.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Logical Gap:
Author's argument:

Evidence: Strozzi is the only KNOWN woman composer
Conclusion: She was one of very FEW women composers

But what if other women WERE noteworthy in the 1600s, but records were lost over 400 years?
For "only known today" to mean "only few existed then," the author must assume:
→ If a woman was noteworthy in her time, modern scholars would know about her
That's exactly what Answer C states.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
RC Principle:
In historical passages, "known" implicitly means "known to current researchers/scholars." This is standard academic language - you're expected to make this inference.

rak08

fair GMATNinja
but how can we say "modern scholars"