Fascinating analysis.

Two follow-up questions:

Why do some sad songs sing to us, while others (often with the same subject matter) leave us unmoved?

Similar question, but with a different focus:

Why does some sad instrumental compositions move us while other instrumentals don't? Here it's not a question of language at all. Is the difference something in the music itself, something in the listener's experience / background, or some combination?

Thanks for the research as well as the personal insights.