How Stoicism influenced music from the French Renaissance to Pink Floyd

'All things are possible,' Pink Floyd's Roger Waters said of the message contained in the band's eighth album, 'Dark Side of the Moon.' David Redfern/Redferns via Getty Images

Have you ever turned to music when struggling with a difficult emotion, like sadness, anxiety or anger?

Most people believe that music has some therapeutic power, and that confidence is increasingly backed by empirical evidence. However, there remains little consensus on precisely how or why music has an ability to influence our emotional, physical and mental well-being.