Critical Reasoning

Critic: Most chorale preludes were written for the organ, and most great chorale preludes written for the organ were written by J.S. Bach. One of Bach’s chorale preludes dramatizes one hymn’s perspective on the year’s end. This prelude is agonizing and fixed on the passing of the old year, with its dashed hopes and lost opportunities. It does not necessarily reveal Bach’s own attitude toward the change of the year, it does reflect the tone of the hymn’s text. People often think that artists create in order to express their own feelings. Some artists do. Master artists never do, and Bach was a master artist.

If the critic’s statements are true, then on the basis of them, which one of the following CANNOT be true?

(A) Back believed that the close of the year was not a time for optimism and joyous celebration
(B) In composing music about a particular subject, Bach did not write his music in order to express his own attitude toward the subject
© In compositions other than chorale preludes, Bach wrote music in order to express his feelings various subjects
(D) Most of Bach’s chorale preludes were written for instruments other than the organ
(E) Most of the great chorale preludes were written for instruments other than the organ[b]

Whether the answer is C?[/b]

C contains a missing word (about or on various subjects), however that is not the untrue statement.
The clue is in the last three sentences:
People often think that artists create in order to express their own feelings. Some artists do. Master artists never do, and Bach was a master artist.
This would indicate that whatever he was composing, he did not do so to express his own feelings, which equates to the statement at C, so C is true.

The very first sentence contains the clue to the untrue statement, though either the test is wrong or you have copied a statement incorrectly because there are TWO untrue statements, not just one.
Can you find them now?

I think it is possible for D & E to be true. Though it is not discussed in the passage that “Most of Bach’s chorale preludes were written for instruments other than the organ” it’s not inherently contradictory to the sentence " Most chorale preludes were written for the organ, and most great chorale preludes written for the organ were written by J.S. Bach." That’s why either of D & E is not the answer I think. Am I right?

You are correct in your conclusion, but this doesn’t make sense to me:

I don’t see why you would expect to see that discussion in the paragraph, because it is clear from the opening sentences in the passage that most of Bach’s chorale preludes WERE written for the organ, and NOT for other instruments - so the quoted statement from the options IS contradictory to information in the paragraph.