in fact , on the surface level , almost nothing had changed at all with him ; and yet , it seemed that a great transformation was occurring , all the while , unnoticed by the permanent townies , who saw the accordionist too frequently to get a sense of the gradual changes , but easily observed by tourists and seasonal residents who returned year-after-year and who could discern after their long absence , the unequivocal metamorphosis in the tone of the music itself : a tone more mellifluous and nuanced and grandiose , finer and airier and closer by degrees to melodic sublimity than in years previous .