CAT 2019 Slot 1 VARC Question & Solution
Passage
"Free of the taint of manufacture" - that phrase, in particular, is heavily loaded with the ideology of what the Victorian socialist William Morris called the "anti-scrape", or an anticapitalist conservationism (not conservatism) that solaced itself with the vision of a preindustrial golden age. In Britain, folk may often appear a cosy, fossilised form, but when you look more closely, the idea of folk - who has the right to sing it, dance it, invoke it, collect it, belong to it or appropriate it for political or cultural ends - has always been contested territory.
. . .
In our own time, though, the word "folk" . . . has achieved the rare distinction of occupying fashionable and unfashionable status simultaneously. Just as the effusive floral prints of the radical William Morris now cover genteel sofas, so the revolutionary intentions of many folk historians and revivalists have led to music that is commonly regarded as parochial and conservative. And yet - as newspaper columns periodically rejoice - folk is hip again, influencing artists, clothing and furniture designers, celebrated at music festivals, awards ceremonies and on TV, reissued on countless record labels. Folk is a sonic "shabby chic", containing elements of the uncanny and eerie, as well as an antique veneer, a whiff of Britain's heathen dark ages. The very obscurity and anonymity of folk music's origins open up space for rampant imaginative fancies. . . .
[Cecil Sharp, who wrote about this subject, believed that] folk songs existed in constant transformation, a living example of an art form in a perpetual state of renewal. "One man sings a song, and then others sing it after him, changing what they do not like" is the most concise summary of his conclusions on its origins. He compared each rendition of a ballad to an acorn falling from an oak tree; every subsequent iteration sows the song anew. But there is tension in newness. In the late 1960s, purists were suspicious of folk songs recast in rock idioms. Electrification, however, comes in many forms. For the early-20th-century composers such as Vaughan Williams and Holst, there were thunderbolts of inspiration from oriental mysticism, angular modernism and the body blow of the first world war, as well as input from the rediscovered folk tradition itself.
For the second wave of folk revivalists, such as Ewan MacColl and AL Lloyd, starting in the 40s, the vital spark was communism's dream of a post-revolutionary New Jerusalem. For their younger successors in the 60s, who thronged the folk clubs set up by the old guard, the lyrical
freedom of Dylan and the unchained melodies of psychedelia created the conditions for folkrock's own golden age, a brief Indian summer that lasted from about 1969 to 1971. . . . Four decades on, even that progressive period has become just one more era ripe for fashionable emulation and pastiche. The idea of a folk tradition being exclusively confined to oral transmission has become a much looser, less severely guarded concept. Recorded music and television, for today's metropolitan generation, are where the equivalent of folk memories are seeded. . . .
Question 1
At a conference on folk forms, the author of the passage is least likely to agree with which one of the following views?
Solution:
Cecil Sharp says "One man sings a song, and then others sing it after him, changing what they do not like". This signifies that folk music is constantly evolving. Hence, this adaptability contributes to its plurality. Hence the author is going to agree with option B
"Just as the effusive ..... on countless record labels" This indicates that - "Just as the radical views of Morris became popular and mainstream, similarly folk music which is considered parochial is becoming popular and conformist. This popularity is being rejoiced by media as "folk is hip again". Hence, option C correctly captures this sentiment.
"For the early-20th-century composers .... tradition itself." This line captures the idea that folk is also inspired by various philosophies and schools of thought. Hence, we can infer that folk is intellectually relevant in contemporary times. Option D is in coherence with the author's views.
Option A says that folk forms exhibit homogeneity. The author in the entire passage describes the diversity of folk and says it paves way for vivid imagination. "The very obscurity and anonymity of folk music's origins open up space for rampant imaginative fancies". Cecil Sharp cites an analogy of an oak tree to show the constant transformation of folk. Hence, this option is contradicting author's opinion and he is least likely to agree with it.
Question 2
The primary purpose of the reference to William Morris and his floral prints is to show:
Solution:
"Just as the effusive floral prints of the radical William Morris now cover genteel sofas, so the revolutionary intentions of many folk historians and revivalists have led to music that is commonly regarded as parochial and conservative.
Here the author compares two aspects. We know that William Morris is a radical conservationist as per para 1. (genteel refers to respectable/gentlemanly, genteel sofas refers to people in respectable place in life) As the footprints/views of William Morris becomes more popular i.e. as conservative folk forms once considered radical became more mainstream, similarly folk music which is considered parochial is now being revived by revivalists. The primary purpose is to show an analogy that a radical folk form became more mainstream/acceptable over time. This expression is best captured in option C
Question 3
The author says that folk “may often appear a cosy, fossilised form” because:
Solution:
"Free of the taint of manufacture" ...... been contested territory."
The phrase "Free of the taint of manufacture" is likely to have emerged post-industrialisation when conservationinsts(conserving status quo especially natural resources) fancied a pre-industrial age and expressed nostalgic attachment towards it. Hence the main point of the first paragraph can be summarised as "Conservationists envisioned a cosy folk form inspired by preindustrial times".
Hence option B is the correct answer
Question 4
Which of the following statements about folk revivalism of the 1940s and 1960s cannot be inferred from the passage?
Solution:
" In the late 1960s, purists were suspicious of folk songs recast in rock idioms." Purists oppose any altercation or adaptation of original folk from and they criticized the adaptations by rock too. Hence, option B can be inferred
Folk music was inspired by revolutionary intentions in 1940s, various philosophies and school of thoughts in 1960s, Freedom of expression(Bob dylan) and psychedalia.
This shows a constant transformation of folk reinforcing the beliefs of Cecil Sharp. Option C is correct.
Option D can be rightly inferred from the lyrical freedom of bob dylan and revolutionary intentions in 1940s.
Option A : "In the late 1960s, purists were suspicious of folk songs recast in rock idioms. Electrification, however, comes in many forms." Even though the electrification of folk by rock was rejected by purists, electrification came in many forms and not individually by Rock alone. Hence, electrification of folk music is not causated by rock alone. Hence option A cannot be inferred.
Question 5
All of the following are causes for plurality and diversity within the British folk tradition EXCEPT:
Solution:
Option A and option D both signifies the inspiration of folk music from two different times. Folk is not limited to immediate past or to any specific time-line. This contributes to the plurality of folk music.
Option C talks about "fluidity". Fluidity indicates flexibility or different modes of oral rendition. For example different vocal styles can be generated by pitch, rhythm, style of rendition. Hence, the variance in oral transmission of music can lead to various iterations of one original form. Hence, this again contributes to the diversity and plurality of folk music.
Option B: Popularity or unpopularity is an opinion. An opinion in no way contributes to the diversity of a folk form. It might be regarded as diverse opinions but does not inherently contribute to the diversity of folk itself. Hence, option B does not contribute to folk's plurality.