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This is not to deny that the Black gospel music of the early twentieth century differed in important ways from the slave spirituals. Whereas spirituals were created and disseminated in folk fashion, gospel music was composed, published, copyrighted, and sold by professionals. Nevertheless, improvisation remained central to gospel music. One has only to listen to the recorded repertoire of gospel songs to realize that Black gospel singers rarely sang a song precisely the same way twice and never according to its exact musical notation. They performed what jazz musicians call “head arrangements” proceeding from their own feelings and from the way “the spirit” moved them at the time. This improvisatory element was reflected in the manner in which gospel music was published. Black gospel composers scored the music intended for White singing groups fully, indicating the various vocal parts and the accompaniment, but the music produced for Black singers included only a vocal line and piano accompaniment.
The author mentions “folk fashion” (line 3) most likely in order to
A.counter an assertion about the role of improvisation in music created by Black people
B.compare early gospel music with gospel music written later in the twentieth century
C.make a distinction between gospel music and slave spirituals
D.introduce a discussion about the dissemination of slave spirituals
E.describe a similarity between gospel music and slave spirituals
The passage suggests which of the following about Black gospel music and slave spirituals?
A.Both became widely known in the early twentieth century.
B.Both had an important improvisatory element.
C.Both were frequently performed by jazz musicians.
D.Both were published with only a vocal line and piano accompaniment.
E.Both were disseminated chiefly by Black singing groups.
Of the following sentences, which is most likely to have immediately preceded the passage?
A.Few composers of gospel music drew on traditions such as the spiritual in creating their songs.
B.Spirituals and Black gospel music were derived from the same musical tradition.
C.The creation and singing of spirituals, practiced by Black Americans before the Civil War, continued after the war.
D.Spirituals and gospel music can be clearly distinguished from one another.
E.Improvisation was one of the primary characteristics of the gospel music created by Black musicians.
