English title The Silence Writer(s) Nini Rosso | Written 1965 | |
Il Silenzio (The Silence) is an instrumental piece, with a small spoken Italian lyric, notable for its trumpet theme. It was written in 1965 (see "Origin" below) by trumpet player Nini Rosso and Guglielmo Brezza, its thematic melody being an extension of the same Italian Cavalry bugle call used by the Russian composer Tchaikovsky to open his Capriccio Italien (often mistaken for the U.S. military bugle call "Taps"). It has become a worldwide instrumental standard that has sold around 10 million copies. It was a number one hit in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and sold over five million copies by the end of 1967. Rosso was awarded a gold disc. On 9 January 1965 it reached the Number 1 position in Australia and stayed in the charts for 19 weeks, and in the United Kingdom it peaked at number 8 on the Record Retailer singles chart. In the United States it reached #32 in the Billboard Easy Listening Charts.
Contents
Spoken lyrics
Il Silenzio contains the following spoken lines:
Buona notte, amore Ti vedrò nei miei sogni Buona notte a te che sei lontano. Good night, love I'll see you in my dreams Good night to you who are far away.Origin
"Il Silenzio" is a memorial piece commissioned by the Dutch and first played in 1965 on the 20th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.
Uses
The song is the official club hymn of the Slovakian football club FC Spartak Trnava. It is played before every home match.
Part of the song is also used in all the Italian barracks, to signal the end of the day.
Cover versions
Famous cover versions are by Dalida (who performed this song in French, Italian and German), Eddie Calvert, Roy Black, Paul Mauriat, Marijan Domić, and Melissa Venema.
The German trumpeter Roy Etzel's version of the song, without lyrics, was also popular in the US and reached place 140 in the Billboard 200 on Christmas 1965.
A Māori version, with words by George Tait, titled "The Bridge", was released by New Zealand entertainer Deane Waretini and topped the New Zealand singles charts in 1981.
Al Hirt released a version of the song as a single in 1965 that reached #19 on the adult contemporary chart and #96 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2008 the soloist was a 13-year-old Dutch girl, Melissa Venema, backed by André Rieu and the Royal Orchestra of the Netherlands.