Final answer:
True, program music has a literary or narrative link, designed to convey a story or illustrate non-musical elements, enhancing emotional experiences through thematic concepts.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, program music is indeed music that has a literary link or narrative of some kind. The essence of program music is to evoke images or convey the impression of events. It is designed to tell a story or illustrate a literary idea, landscape, or other non-musical element. This type of music stands in contrast to absolute music, which is purely about musical form and structure, without intended reference to external ideas or content.
Music is considered a cultural universal because it can cross societal boundaries more easily than words, uniting people by evoking shared emotional responses. These responses can include joy, sadness, or fear, and such musical cues are common across different cultures. Program music specifically enhances these emotional experiences by linking the sound to a narrative or thematic concept that listeners can follow, augmenting the universality of music's emotional language.