CelloMan; Instrumental Classmates

Well, it's about time the world welcomed a superhero whose fame didn't reside in rearranging people's faces, saving the universe on a weekly basis, or serving as a model for action figures sold during Christmas. I am, of course, referring to CelloMan, the nom de pluck of Eugene Friesen, Grammy-award winning cellist and composer (and self-proclaimed "defender of all musical notes") with the Paul Winter Consort, whose exquisite bowing and fevered plucking produce an aural mosaic of delicious sounds and melodies in Jonathan Swinchatt's handsomely lensed concert/performance video CelloMan."Boldly going where no cello has gone before," Friesen's instrument, under the expert hands of its master, explores the world of music "from Bach to rock," before a live audience of very tough critics: grade-schoolers. But this is hardly your basic concert or, for that matter, run-of-the-mill school program. On the contrary, CelloMan is a carefully constructed mix of music, theater, entertainment and education which begins offstage, where the major players are introduced: Friesen, his cello, maskmaker Rob Faust (co-host and co-creator), and his extraordinary animal and human masks.Putting it all together, the pair walk viewers through the elements of music (rhythm, harmony, melody, sound color, and texture), toy with the notion of how different animals and insects would play the cello (including an ant expertly bowing the world's smallest cello--one-eighth the size of a regular instrument!), and underscore the importance of practice and focus in whatever endeavor, musical or otherwise, viewers choose to undertake.Musically inclined younger viewers are sure to enjoy Friesen and Faust's stage antics, while listeners of all ages will surely appreciate the sublime sounds of "two mammals playing a duet" (Friesen on electric cello--playing slap cello, no less--and the recorded song of the humpback whale), as well as Friesen's inspired improvisational take on a piece by Bartók, and his moving homage to master cellist Pablo Casals.A wonderful introduction to music appreciation built around the instrument that is actually closest to the human voice in sound, CelloMan is a delightful hour, from its opening insights into what constitutes music to its signature close, in which the CelloMan cuts loose: playing slap cello and his...um...hat and his...er...sunglasses; well, you just have to see it. Highly recommended. Aud: E, I, P. (R. Pitman)Instrumental Classmates, by way of sorry contrast, offers host Pachelbel Johann Sebastian Smith, "P. J." for short, who sounds like a loud surfer dude (and, yes, that is an obnoxious combination). Subscribing to the (unfortunately) widespread notion that no child will remember facts unless they are either a) more or less screamed out, or b) accompanied by special effects razzle dazzle (which are often neither particularly special, nor especially dazzling), the volume I watched--In Tune With Strings--featured a rather lame private eye framing story involving a missing violin string.To be fair, viewers will learn the various stringed instruments that comprise the first family of the orchestra--the violin, viola, cello, and double bass--as well as the more popular stringed instruments, such as the banjo, mandolin, and guitar (the video's most dubious, grammatically awkward observation: "most guitars use a pick to play them." News to me: I wasn't previously aware that these decisions were made by the guitar). Unfortunately, as I suggested earlier, the presentation is rather lame-o, and if you think "P. J." will wear on you, wait till you have to sit through the extended "Brain Blast" animation (signaling an impending factoid) for the fifth or sixth time. The other titles in the series are: In Tune with Keyboards, In Tune with Woodwinds, In Tune with Brass, and In Tune with Percussion. For my money, Disney's World of Music Discovery (VL-5/98) is a better choice that doesn't talk down to its audience. Optional. Aud: E, I, P. (R. Pitman)