So there’s this group of talented and slightly bonkers classical musicians called Cadenza, who I’m beginning to believe can do anything at all, musically speaking.  They write orchestral compositions based on mobile phone ringtones, they busk as a human jukebox, they introduce kids to classical music, and they sing lyrics that aren’t lyrics.

And they sing “It’s a Wonderful World” as Louis Armstrong could never have envisaged it…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOZb7KeJUQ8?rel=0]What I find impressive about this – aside from the consummate cleverness of it – is how impeccably each genre is sung.  The Gregorian chant is spot on, as is the Baroque, the Jazz, the Disco, the Rap… and all the even more recent genres that I’ve never even heard of, being lost in classical music land for the most part.
My only quibble is that they only spend about half a minute on the pre-20th century stuff before heading into marching band territory.  I realise that the 20th century was a pretty innovative time, musically speaking, but I’d have liked to hear a few more forays into the world of classical music – wouldn’t you like to know what Strauss might have done with this?  Or Carl Orff?  Or even Verdi?Still magnificent stuff, however, and I’ve just subscribed to their channel.  I do warn you – once you start listening to this group, you will be there all morning…Or you could just have a listen to Louis Armstrong‘s version of It’s A Wonderful World, of course.  I find that, for all the magnificence of Cadenza’s interpretations, Armstrong sounds even better after listening to what they’ve done with it.