Joseph Sowa wrote:

>Is emotion really extra-musical?

Possibly.

>One has emotion when they speak in English; it isn't "extra-English."

Yes it is.  The emotion exists independently of its being expressed
in English or any other language.  Some people, charged with emotion
themselves, choose not to express it.  Others do, sometimes in language,
sometimes in music, sometimes in other forms.

To confuse the matter further, people can express emotions without
necessarily feeling them, and whether or not such expressions are felt
by the person expressing them often has no bearing on the quality of
such expression.  The most ardent lover may, nevertheless, not be able
to articulate it any better than with a "Roses are red" verse, or, on
the other hand, she may write the *Sonnets from the Portuguese*.  One not
feeling the emotion at all may write verses for a greeting card company, or
the dialogue in *Romeo and Juliet* (ignore here the plot of a recent award
winning movie).  Similarly, I recall from my reading (even if I cannot now
cite examples) great music suggesting sadness if not despair written while
the composer was feeling no such emotions and great cheerful music written
by composers while they were sad.

The creation by humans of symbols with an identity separate from what they
represent is, IMO, what constitutes art.  It's what distinguishes art from
a beautiful sunset or landscape, or the sounds of birds and running brooks.

Walter Meyer