Wagnerian blubber

What is it about certain pieces of music that instantly touch a nerve?  And, frequently in my case, the lachrymose nerve?

I drove along this morning quietly blubbing to Wagner's Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde on Radio 3.

Is there a more heart-searing hymn to unrequited love?  It's almost unbearable to listen to at times.  Such magic from a man who I find difficult to like in terms of his views and attitudes.  The fact that Hitler was a fervent admirer doesn't help.  But this only adds to the paradox of the emotion and beauty of the music.

If you don't know the piece, then buy it and keep listening.  And, perhaps, a box of tissues.