Digital ACT Reading Practice Question #1304

The following passage is adapted from an essay on Renaissance polyphony: "The transition from monophonic Gregorian chant to the elaborate counterpoint of Josquin des Prez in the late fifteenth century represented a profound epistemological transformation. While chant subordinated melodic variance to the sacred text, polyphony treated independent voices as a harmonious architecture. Conservative clerical critics vehemently objected, warning that overlapping vocal lines rendered liturgical Latin unintelligible. Yet the Council of Trent ultimately declined to ban polyphony, recognizing that contrapuntal complexity could heighten spiritual transcendence when vocal clarity was preserved." According to the passage, the primary objection raised by conservative clerical critics against polyphonic music was that: