Christopher Cerf: Sound and Image

Multimedia creator Christopher Cerf ’63 (profiled in the July-August issue of the magazine [4]) has been an important force in educational television for many years. Here are a few samples from two programs in which he has played a central creative role.

The three audio clips here (at left) are all drawn from the series Lomax, the Hound of Music, which aims to teach music by drawing on the folk tradition.  Kitty in the Straw is a feline variant on the classic Turkey in the Straw. The Arkansas Traveler offers a straightforward rendition of the folk standard. The show's theme song, The Melody Hound Express, uses new lyrics set to the melody of the venerable Wabash Cannonball.

Three video clips come from the literacy-oriented series Between the Lions (BTL). The "Double O 'oo'" clip explores the possibilities of the "oo" sound in a soul-music setting.

The "W Trouble" excerpt employs  a lilting country-and-western sound to lament the "trouble" that the letter W poses.

The "Between the Lions theme music and opener" introduces the leonine librarians who are the show's hosts.