Who has not felt the need for transfiguration? Who has not felt the Cinderella in them needing to be transformed from a deprived stepsister to a beautiful princess? Who has not felt so drab, so hum-drum, so dull, so boring even to one’s own self that one could hardly stand it? In moments like that - and for some people a good part of their life seems to be spent like that! - we feel that we simply must get beyond ourselves. We want to feel transfigured at least, to feel bright and cheery and extraordinary and unique and charming and interesting so that we may gain a new sense of self-importance.

The world offers a variety of ways to do that, for it knows how to play off of feelings like that. Music has a way of transporting us out of our every-day world into another kind of world. Contempor…