programme music 
noun [mass noun]
Music that is intended to evoke images or convey the impression of events. Compare with absolute music.Although Brahms is not associated with program music, his early Ballade in D minor gets its inspiration from the Scottish ballad ‘Edward’ that dives into the underside of the human condition....
- Antarctica is a very attractive work in its final form but betrays its origins as programme music in that some transitions lack apparent musical logic.
- We may tentatively agree with him that technically the Passion is a form of programme music for liturgical use, its designative meaning referring specifically to religious events and doctrines.