Aristotle wrote, in On Interpretation,
- Spoken words are symbols of emotion.
- Written words are symbols of spoken words.
- Written words are also speech and differ with all races, but
- “Emotions are the same for the whole of mankind.“
This is the key to what we call Universality in music. Does it not also remind us that no matter how music is used (church, military, circus, public performance) the fundamental purpose of music is to communicate emotion?
