# Classical music is the only artform to have evoked tears



## WeThotUWasAToad (Mar 17, 2015)

Hello,

This is a follow-up to a recent thread located here:

*Specific parts of classical works which have moved you to tears*

In reading and listening to several of the selections mentioned in that thread, an interesting thought came to mind: namely that, besides classical music, I don't know of another medium or artform which has ever affected me emotionally to the point of tears.

I occasionally enjoy some other musical genres (jazz, classic rock, and musical theater, eg) and I have an appreciation for good literature and other types of fine arts, etc. But, although there are examples in each of these categories which, at times, have given rise to feelings of inspiration, motivation, (and even goosebumps), I can't think of any, besides certain portions of classical music, which have caused me to weep for the sheer beauty of what I am experiencing.

I have certainly cried at times while reading a particular book or listening to/watching a particular audio program or movie, etc. But I think when that occurs, it is usually - if not always - due to the stirring of a tender spot within me by some element of the story being conveyed, rather than arising from a primary or direct aspect of the artform itself.

Also, Program Music, by its definition, "attempts to musically render an extra-musical narrative"* and Opera does so explicitly. And to the degree that their "extra-musical" content moves one emotionally, those two examples can be grouped with literature and film.

However, I'm curious if anyone reading this post recalls a time when they literally wept while sitting before a painting or sculpture, or while experiencing some other artform (outside of classical music), not in response to any "extra-art" characteristic it conveyed but purely due to the beauty of the art itself?

And if you agree with me (or even if not), why/how is it that classical music can touch one so much more deeply?

Thanks

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_music


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

It's possible for beauty in any form, in art or in nature, to evoke tears in those susceptible. I suppose this response is for most people more likely, and more intense, toward music. Aaron Copland, though, remarked that he was often moved to tears by the theater, but rarely by music.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

A couple of pop/rock songs have come closer to evoke tears than any classical music for me:


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## fliege (Nov 7, 2017)

Rothko claimed that people wept when seeing his late works and he saw this as a vindication of his work and style. Personally, whilst I find classical music most moving, I have also wept having read poetry or novels or sometimes films. Never painting and sculpture, though.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I don't know but would have thought that literature and drama (including film) win the battle of invoking tears. Aside from tears that come from genuine pathos and beauty, it is so much easier for writers to manipulate the emotions of their audience.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

This paper https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4107937/ addresses the phenomenon of chills, etc. induced by music. It is very probable that chills, tears, gooseflesh are the result of a "cusp" or inflection point experience, whereby an overwhelming impression of being perceptively, emotionally, psychologically turned in another direction, or first poised on the edge of an emotional precipice and then launched down its face. This impression of motion, irresistable motion, can only be most strongly conveyed by art forms that are dynamic and time-dependent, such as music, literature, theater. Static forms--painting, architecture, and sculpture--are far less able to present a cusp experience.


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

Classical music has not evoked any tears from me in my lifetime. That's because for most of classical, outside of opera, there is no context for understanding what one is supposed to be sad about.

Take for instance the 3rd movement of Brahms' 3rd symphony. Truly a sad piece of music, but what sadness should it evoke from me without context? Maybe he's sad because he and Clara never got it on, but we just don't know:






I'm sure in opera there are plenty of reasons for tears, but that's because they have words that give it all meaning.


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## Gallus (Feb 8, 2018)

Out of all the artforms poetry gets the most tears from me. Classical music does make me cry, but usually opera, lieder, sacred choral or other vocal forms, since I respond most to human sentiment and music is generally too abstract to express that directly.


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## ribonucleic (Aug 20, 2014)

This particular Sarah Vaughan performance of "The Man I Love" (there are other, lesser ones) gets me every time.






And movies, all the time. At the end of _Coco_, I was _sobbing_.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

> Classical music is the only artform to have evoked tears


nonsense. Classical music never evoked tears in me. Movies and literature occasionally did. And even when music is concerned, classical is not the most moving among the music genres. The goal of movie soundtracks is to evoke emotions and they do it more effectively than classical.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Chopping onions evokes tears.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

fliege said:


> Rothko claimed that people wept when seeing his late works and he saw this as a vindication of his work and style.


I remember having my first encounter with Rothko in the L.A. contemporary art musem, where I turned a corner and discovered myself in a room filled with his paintings. All those paintings together so affected me that I got weak-kneed and had to sit down. Later one showed up in Nashville, and as I got caught up in it, I was actually moved to tears. It was a little embarrassing, surrounded by indifferent museum goers. Of course, I was in a spiritual crisis, and that was addressing something inwardly that I was seeking.

It's funny what gets to us.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Pieces have brought me to tears when they haven't supposed to. Final movement in Beethoven Symphony no 5 is one example as it is such a beautiful movement


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Manxfeeder said:


> I remember having my first encounter with Rothko in the L.A. contemporary art musem, where I turned a corner and discovered myself in a room filled with his paintings. All those paintings together so affected me that I got weak-kneed and had to sit down. Later one showed up in Nashville, and as I got caught up in it, I was actually moved to tears. It was a little embarrassing, surrounded by indifferent museum goers. Of course, I was in a spiritual crisis, and that was addressing something inwardly that I was seeking.


I had a similar experience in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I have long loved the paintings of the mid-19th-century American Luminist "school" of landscapists. The museum had gathered into one room many of the most representative, classic works by these painters, and the effect of walking unknowingly into this assemblage of dozens of these works, on every wall, was very powerful. My head started to swim; I felt as if I would faint, and sat down as one enthralled (which I was), yet trying not to make a spectacle of myself. Certain vast landscapes of the American West evoke similar feelings. Edmund Burke wrote much about our experience of "The Sublime".


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Classical music usually falls more in the intellectual domain for me. Add text and voice and emotions might rise. A good folk song is more likely to make me cry than hearing Bach or Brahms wallow in grief. Bob Marley's Redemption Song hauls enough tears to flood the world.

There may be a few classical exceptions, but they almost all include vocals. And a live performance might make a difference. To cry over a CD playing in my living room would be silly, wouldn't it?


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

Any art form - and it could be tears of sheer joy as well as sadness.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Nope. Not here. Put a lump in the throat? Make one speechless? Overwhelmed with beauty? Sure. But real uncontrollable tears? No. Not opera or theatre either. Certainly not sculpture. But the movies: in particular two and both in the closing scene. Toy Story 3 and The Wizard of Oz. Both get me every time.


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## Kollwitz (Jun 10, 2018)

Music brings tears to my eyes more than anything else, but it doesn't really make me cry. They're sometimes more like tears of joy but it's more often a wordless emotional response that feels intense and overwhelming more than happy or sad, accompanied by goosebumps, shivers down spine etc.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

I have sometimes had to perform non-classical music that was so bad it made me cry


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

It might be useful to discriminate between being "moved to tears"--that is, (merely) having tears well up in one's eyes, and actual weeping, crying from acute distress. The phenomena of gooseflesh, chills, thrills are often accompanied by the formation of tears, without a progression to protracted crying. Perhaps the OP might elaborate on this distinction in reference to their particular experience(s). I myself plead guilty to the former (tears) in regards to instances of classical music, but cannot recall being moved to crying.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

mbhaub said:


> Nope. Not here. Put a lump in the throat? Make one speechless? Overwhelmed with beauty? Sure. But real uncontrollable tears? No. Not opera or theatre either. Certainly not sculpture. But the movies: in particular two and both in the closing scene. *Toy Story 3* and The Wizard of Oz. Both get me every time.


Yup! I'll admit I've cried more watching Toy Story 3 and Up than listening to Bach or Mozart or Mahler. Bach _moves_ me more, and I would any day take his works over those of Pixar, but visuals and music combined can do a lot.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

This clip of Callas in Puccini's "Tosca" evoked a strange mist in my eyes. I felt ashamed and unmanly. 

https://nyti.ms/2CPO0vV


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

Film does it for me most often, often film related to a virtue in some way, but I'm sure there was music playing at the same time.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

starthrower said:


> Chopping onions evokes tears.


Damn right. Bitter tears.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Red Terror said:


> This clip of Callas in Puccini's "Tosca" evoked a strange mist in my eyes. I felt ashamed and unmanly.
> 
> https://nyti.ms/2CPO0vV


Strange mist? Unmanly? Hell, it rips me to shreds every time I watch it!


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

starthrower said:


> Chopping onions evokes tears.


Tears from the autonomic instinctive system and tears from the heart are two different things.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

regenmusic said:


> Tears from the autonomic instinctive system and tears from the heart are two different things.


tears are produced in the lacrimal glands, there are no tears in the heart
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrimal_gland


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2018)

I’ve cried from listening to/watching Wagner operas, but not as much as I’ve cried from reading books or watching a film. I think photography has certainly evoked tears as well.


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2018)

Jacck said:


> tears are produced in the lacrimal glands, there are no tears in the heart
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrimal_gland


I should hope that there are no tears in the heart for I'm sure that will lead to rather agonising internal bleeding and death.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

WeThotUWasAToad said:


> not in response to any "extra-art" characteristic it conveyed but purely due to the beauty of the art itself?


I think this may be more of an illusion than it appears. When this has happened to me it is usually (on reflection) because the music or art has triggered an already-existing emotional state. Much like that described by Manxfeeder.

It's an opportunity for allowing the emotion out as tears (or collapse or whatever) where doing this in relation to the emotional state feels impossible.

You may then say: 'but there must be something in it to be able to trigger emotions in that way.' Yes indeed, but it appears to be not unique to classical music and not specifically to "its beauty" or the "pure art in itself", or any of those metaphysical ideas.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

regenmusic said:


> Tears from the autonomic instinctive system and tears from the heart are two different things.


I can't be wrong, but maybe the point was that "tears from the heart" don't imply the superiority of an art form.


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## WeThotUWasAToad (Mar 17, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> It might be useful to discriminate between being "moved to tears"--that is, (merely) having tears well up in one's eyes, and actual weeping, crying from acute distress. The phenomena of gooseflesh, chills, thrills are often accompanied by the formation of tears, without a progression to protracted crying. Perhaps the OP might elaborate on this distinction in reference to their particular experience(s). I myself plead guilty to the former (tears) in regards to instances of classical music, but cannot recall being moved to crying.


I hesitate including this first sentence because I don't want to be obnoxious but, FYI as it turns out, I'm an ophthalmologist (specialized in corneal transplants). Having said that however, I readily acknowledge that there is far more that I don't know (including about the eyes) than I now or ever will know, but I _have_ studied and dealt with the lacrimal system quite a bit.

As has been pointed out, tearing (or lacrimation) can occur in response to very different stimuli, such as accompanying a sneeze or yawn, or due to a noxious physical stimulus (onions, chili peppers, a misdirected lash, etc), or as part of a variety of strong emotional feelings (including grief, joy, awe, etc [see Emma Thompson in one of the last scenes of Sense and Sensibility]).

However, regardless of the cause, the only difference between becoming teary-eyed and overtly crying or having tears running down your cheeks is simply a result of the volume of tears flowing out of your lacrimal glands (located slightly above and outside your eyes) vs. the capacity of your lacrimal outflow system (located near/in your nose) to drain the tears away.

It's exactly analogous to a sink or bathtub with the faucet running, and rate at which water is able to flow down the drain. If the flow from the faucet increases, the level of water in the sink may rise but it will not overflow as long as the drain can handle the extra volume. Conversely, a person with an occluded or plugged-up outflow system can have tears running down their face constantly. (Fortunately there are treatments for most of those situations.)

So I think the distinction you mentioned is one only of degree rather than some difference in anatomy or physiology.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The Eyes have it!


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Sometimes music moves me to tears, and I believe that classical tend to do this much more to me than non-classical. I think that pop, rock, metal, jazz and other music artforms can also achieve great expression, but, from what I know, not to the same level of the greatest classical masterpieces. Painting and sculpture can move me but not to tears (well, it never happened until now), while cinema can and sometimes do. But my tears from movies usually come from moments when the soundtrack is more lyrical, so I believe that, in the end, my tears come from the mix of story with music, like in an opera. A hipothetical movie that does not have a soundtrack won't move me to tears, I believe, even if it's the saddest or most beautiful story in the world.



Strange Magic said:


> *It might be useful to discriminate between being "moved to tears"--that is, (merely) having tears well up in one's eyes, and actual weeping, crying from acute distress.* The phenomena of gooseflesh, chills, thrills are often accompanied by the formation of tears, without a progression to protracted crying. Perhaps the OP might elaborate on this distinction in reference to their particular experience(s). I myself plead guilty to the former (tears) in regards to instances of classical music, but cannot recall being moved to crying.


I'm not from an English speaking country and didn't know this distinction. Thanks for clarifying it.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

For me, there are other art forms that can bring me to tears with almost equal consistently as classical music.

Movies for sure.

Visual art, not nearly as much. I am a huge fan of painting and sculpture, but it never had the effect of bringing a tear to my eye.

And other forms of music also can bring a tear to my eye.

"Exiles", "Book of Saturday", and "The Night Watch" by King Crimson have hauntingly beautiful melodies, for example. The "Soon" section of YES's "Gates of Delirium" is another.

Italian band, PFM is another that can bring tears to my eyes. Songs "Dove Quando" and "Appena Un Po'", for example.

This starting at about 2:53:






French band, Magma is another. This short sample, especially the vocal melody that starts at about 1:26 kills me every time.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> It might be useful to discriminate between being "moved to tears"--that is, (merely) having tears well up in one's eyes, and actual weeping, crying from acute distress. The phenomena of gooseflesh, chills, thrills are often accompanied by the formation of tears, without a progression to protracted crying. Perhaps the OP might elaborate on this distinction in reference to their particular experience(s). I myself plead guilty to the former (tears) in regards to instances of classical music, but cannot recall being moved to crying.


I agree with the distinction that actual crying is often an expression of emotions that are at a more profound level than the welling up of tears (IMO, there are 3 phases: tears->sobbing->full-out crying). But I would just add that crying is not always a sign of acute distress. For example: Memories related to those who have long passed, especially children, can evoke powerful emotions even though the distress of the loss has long been dealt with. Memories of periods in our life that were a challenge or where there were regrets can do the same (especially during periods such as Christmas) even though the distress has long passed. Also, extreme happiness, can result in crying.

As for the OP: for me, listening to certain classical works and some popular works while thinking about some of the above can result in a whole constellation that includes tears to crying. The following popular song which was played at my brother's memorial service 19 years ago does it to me every time:


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Several of the observations posted in this thread appear to confirm that tears and tearing that are the result of emotional provocation, fall--or can fall--into a continuum. I think the key triggers are not only perceived "cusp" experiences that we experience for ourselves directly, but also, just as powerful, our empathetic response to others we see or read about whom we feel are experiencing the cusp phenomenon. It's also clear that the tears of joy and exultation can be as strongly felt as those of sorrow. Enthusiasts of The Lord of the Rings, to mention a widely-shared example, will recall instances of tears of shock, sorrow, and joy that they experience both as direct subjects and as empathetic observers.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

The end of Tristan gets me every time.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Strange Magic said:


> Enthusiasts of The Lord of the Rings, to mention a widely-shared example, will recall instances of tears of shock, sorrow, and joy that they experience both as direct subjects and as empathetic observers.


Tears of boredom are invoked when I think of LOTR.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

The Barcarolle by Frederic Chopin played by Dinu Lipatti.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

eugeneonagain said:


> Tears of boredom are invoked when I think of LOTR.


I am deeply moved by your loss; my profoundest sympathies.


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

Jacck said:


> tears are produced in the lacrimal glands, there are no tears in the heart
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrimal_gland


Yes, I was going to change heart to soul but had been busy.


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## WeThotUWasAToad (Mar 17, 2015)

eugeneonagain said:


> Tears of boredom are invoked when I think of LOTR.


That may be the saddest comment I've ever seen someone post in a forum.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Room2201974 said:


> Classical music has not evoked any tears from me in my lifetime. That's because for most of classical, outside of opera, there is no context for understanding what one is supposed to be sad about.
> 
> Take for instance the 3rd movement of Brahms' 3rd symphony. Truly a sad piece of music, but what sadness should it evoke from me without context? Maybe he's sad because he and Clara never got it on, but we just don't know:
> 
> ...


That's assuming only sadness is capable of evoking tears.

I am brought to tears by sheer beauty.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

eugeneonagain said:


> Tears of boredom are invoked when I think of LOTR.


I had tears of joy when the annoying Gandalf was killed by the Balrog, but then was sadly dissappointed when he was resurrected.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

WeThotUWasAToad said:


> I hesitate including this first sentence because I don't want to be obnoxious but, FYI as it turns out, I'm an ophthalmologist (specialized in corneal transplants). Having said that however, I readily acknowledge that there is far more that I don't know (including about the eyes) than I now or ever will know, but I _have_ studied and dealt with the lacrimal system quite a bit.
> 
> As has been pointed out, tearing (or lacrimation) can occur in response to very different stimuli, such as accompanying a sneeze or yawn, or due to a noxious physical stimulus (onions, chili peppers, a misdirected lash, etc), or as part of a variety of strong emotional feelings (including grief, joy, awe, etc [see Emma Thompson in one of the last scenes of Sense and Sensibility]).
> 
> ...


thanks for the info. Are there any theories why the lacrimal system became evolutionairy coupled with emotions? I get that tears are important to produce a film moisturing the eye, acting as desinfectant, washing away dirt from the eye. But why emotions?


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

stomanek said:


> That's assuming only sadness is capable of evoking tears.
> 
> I am brought to tears by sheer beauty.


The examples I included in my post above, evoke tears due to beauty, not sadness.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Jacck said:


> I had tears of joy when the annoying Gandalf was killed by the Balrog, but then was sadly dissappointed when he was resurrected.


I too had tears of joy-once the whole damned spectacle was over and done with. Those 'flicks' have not aged well.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

*Brando in Last Tango in Paris (Scored by Gato Barbieri)*

In my teens I was a selfish little prick. When I saw this scene-I cried for the first time in years...and I wasn't even sure why.

The jazz score by Gato Barbieri adds to the misery.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

WeThotUWasAToad said:


> Hello,
> In reading and listening to several of the selections mentioned in that thread, an interesting thought came to mind: namely that, besides classical music, *I don't know of another medium or artform which has ever affected me emotionally to the point of tears.*


You obviously have not listened to any of Johnny Cash's tear jerkers.

If this one doesn't move you to tears, check if you have a pulse. (He really did lose his brother in a horrible sawmill accident.)


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Red Terror said:


> I too had tears of joy-once the whole damned spectacle was over and done with. Those 'flicks' have not aged well.


Who's talking about the films??  Aficionados reference the books....


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

WeThotUWasAToad said:


> That may be the saddest comment I've ever seen someone post in a forum.


I wouldn't say that. I was informed on a forum that one of the members had died of sudden multiple organ failure. \That was much sadder than someone not appreciating a silly book series playing at being 'deep' philosophy. For children, but read by adults.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

eugeneonagain said:


> I wouldn't say that. I was informed on a forum that one of the members had died of sudden multiple organ failure. \That was much sadder than someone not appreciating a silly book series playing at being 'deep' philosophy. For children, but read by adults.


Well, to be fair it's not playing at being 'deep' philosophy. Tolkien himself wrote that he was amused and a bit annoyed by how far people were reading into it. It's no allegory or deep meaning but a fun adventure story... nothing more, nothing less. At least that was the intention, personally I was bored out of it by halfway through the Fellowship.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

WeThotUWasAToad said:


> That may be the saddest comment I've ever seen someone post in a forum.


Quite sad indeed. Anhedonia is often the defining characteristic of such scoffers, who have lost the simple gift of becoming totally absorbed in a great tale. Often these same have never experienced--or have forgotten--the smaller classics of their youth: _The Wind in the Willows, The Jungle Books_, etc. What moves them in adulthood are irony, satire, and things that evoke harsh, mocking laughter. The inner child is dead.....


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Strange Magic said:


> Quite sad indeed. Anhedonia is often the defining characteristic of such scoffers, who have lost the simple gift of becoming totally absorbed in a great tale. Often these same have never experienced--or have forgotten--the smaller classics of their youth: _The Wind in the Willows, The Jungle Books_, etc. What moves them in adulthood are irony, satire, and things that evoke harsh, mocking laughter. The inner child is dead.....


Many assumptions there old bean. It's a big jump from being able to get absorbed into a story and:



> is often the defining characteristic of such scoffers, who have lost the simple gift of becoming totally absorbed in a great tale.


It only means I think LOTR is tedious and I'm not the only one.

The ability to enjoy simple tales is not lost on me. Only this morning I listened to L'histoire de Babar with music by Poulenc.

I'm afraid you are wrong.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

eugeneonagain said:


> Many assumptions there old bean. It's a big jump from being able to get absorbed into a story and:
> 
> It only means I think LOTR is tedious and I'm not the only one.
> 
> ...


I believe the shoe fits well.


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## Judas Priest Fan (Apr 27, 2018)

Without reading the whole thread, some rock and Metal songs have moved me to tears. Classical too, of course.

When I discovered classical music about 3 years ago, the first piece I heard was The Four Seasons. I cried like a baby for the first several listens. It´s not sad, it´s just that the pure beauty of it just moves my soul.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Strange Magic said:


> I believe the shoe fits well.


You may be accustomed to cheap shoes.


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

Like a hobbit I'll take barefoot. The books are bad and the films are worse. Project away upon my sole.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Sculptured evokes tears, of course; at least when it's big enough; at least when it falls on your head. 

Architecture definitely evokes tears, either when it falls down or when you're a slave forced to build it. 

But seriously, few of us are conscious enough of the abundance of ugliness in our everyday lives to really appreciate beauty. We go to a museum to see art to mark ourselves as cultural people; we fill our homes with clutter.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

philoctetes said:


> Like a hobbit I'll take barefoot. The books are bad and the films are worse. Project away upon my sole.


We know what happened to Philoctetes when he went barefoot; his sole was indeed gravely damaged, let alone his soul.....


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