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Difficulty: HardPart-to-Whole Rhetorical Function

At the 1889 Paris Exposition, composer Claude Debussy encountered Javanese gamelan music, an experience that profoundly shifted his approach to musical architecture. Prior to this encounter, Western classical composition relied heavily on functional harmony and teleological development, where music builds toward a goal. Gamelan, with its cyclical structures and static pitch centers, offered Debussy an alternative model of temporal organization. Inspired by these non-Western scales, he began to integrate pentatonic and whole-tone scales into his compositions, as seen in his piece 'Pagodes.' This transition allowed him to evoke atmospheric moods rather than narrative progression, thereby laying the groundwork for musical Impressionism.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

  1. A
    It summarizes the ultimate artistic transformation that Debussy achieved by integrating pentatonic scales into his work, as described at the end of the passage.
  2. B
    It explains why Western classical composers prior to Debussy had preferred to use static pitch centers rather than goal-oriented structures.
  3. It explains the specific structural characteristics of Javanese gamelan music that offered an alternative to the traditional Western composition methods mentioned in the preceding sentence.Answer
  4. D
    It suggests that Debussy believed Javanese gamelan music was aesthetically superior to the functional harmony of Western classical music.

Answer

It explains the specific structural characteristics of Javanese gamelan music that offered an alternative to the traditional Western composition methods mentioned in the preceding sentence.
The correct option correctly identifies the relationship between the underlined sentence and the rest of the text. The sentence immediately prior notes that traditional Western composition relied on goal-oriented (teleological) development. The underlined sentence then explains the specific traits of Javanese gamelan (cyclical structures and static pitch centers) that served as an alternative model to that traditional style.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined sentence to identify its main point.
The underlined sentence states that Javanese gamelan's cyclical structures and static pitch centers provided Claude Debussy with an alternative way to organize musical time.
Understanding the literal meaning of the portion is the necessary first step to determining its rhetorical function.
2
Contextualize the underlined sentence within the surrounding sentences.
The preceding sentence notes that Western classical music relied on goal-oriented development (teleology). The following sentences describe how Debussy incorporated these gamelan scales into his own work, leading to Impressionism.
This establishes the relationship between the target sentence and the sentences before and after it.
3
Determine the rhetorical function of the target sentence relative to the whole text.
The sentence functions to explain the specific aspects of gamelan (cyclical structures and static pitch centers) that made it a viable alternative to the Western model established in the previous sentence.
This matches the rhetorical connection between the context of traditional Western music and the new model gamelan provided.

Key Concept

Identifying how a specific sentence or phrase contributes to the development of ideas in a text.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Part-to-Whole Rhetorical Function

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