The vast majority of extant music from the medieval period is recorded

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The Correct Answer:
E In question 3, the student is asked to select a statement that is supported by the claims made in the passage. To do this, the student must infer from what is stated directly. Based on these claims, answer choice (E) is the only one that fulfills this requirement. The passage states quite clearly, “Any medieval music not recorded on manuscripts has now been lost to history. Most of the medieval music still in existence is sacred music.” If most extant medieval music is sacred music, and any music not recorded on manuscripts has been lost to history, then it follows that most popular music was not recorded on manuscripts and thus has been lost to history. It can safely be inferred from this fact that historians do not know much about popular medieval music because they have almost nothing to study. Answer choice (E) is correct.

The Incorrect Answers:
A Answer choice (A) is incorrect because the passage does not offer an evaluative judgment on the music that is still extant, nor does it suggest anywhere that sacred music was recorded because it was the “greatest music” of the period. Historians might rightly debate this issue, but the passage does not discuss it or imply anything about it.

B As with answer choice (A), the passage does not imply answer choice (B). The passage describes facts about the way medieval music was recorded and about what medieval music still exists, but it does not provide an answer to why most of the extant music from the Middle Ages is sacred music. Therefore, in no place in the passage does the author suggest that the Church recorded only medieval music because it did not value popular music. Answer (B) should be eliminated immediately.

C While answer choice (C) might very well be true, the substance of this statement is not discussed at all in the passage and cannot be inferred from any statement made within it. Answer (C) is thus irrelevant and should be eliminated immediately.

D The passage does indicate that the Church was not necessarily the only institution to have the means of affording manuscripts: “As a result, few were able to produce or own them, and the Catholic Church, which had literate scribes as well as considerable wealth, produced and maintained most manuscripts during the Middle Ages.” This suggests logically that other institutions such as the aristocracy might very well have been able to produce and maintain some of the manuscripts. But nowhere does the passage discuss the contents of aristocratic households or that aristocrats might have held large numbers of manuscripts, so this statement cannot be inferred from the passage