The Paradox of Narrative Music

 I'm coming across this paradox: works of narrative music, say, that follow the story of a Lorca play, but do so mostly wordlessly. The paradox (if you want to call it that) is that the music itself (often) lacks narrative. In other words, you could play it for someone and they wouldn't be able to tell you what is happening. 

I'm coming across more and more instrumental music, and it is difficult to talk about because you don't have the anchor of the text, as you do with a song setting. Or rather, you do have that anchor, but the listener is not seeing the text.  

It's a bit like Bodas de sangre of Saura, where the only words performed are some of the "arias," if you like; none of the dialogue. Dance, or pantomime, takes the place of dialogue.