Il Silenzio (song)

"Il Silenzio"
German single cover
Song by Nini Rosso
English title	The Silence
Written	1965
Writer	Nini Rosso

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,^[1] 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, which has sold around 10 million copies.^[2] It was a number one hit in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Austria and in Switzerland in 1965.^[3] 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.

Spoken lyrics

Il Silenzio contains the following spoken lines:

Buona notte, amore

Ti vedrò nei miei sogni

Buona notte a te che sei lontana

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

In a cemetery about six miles from the Dutch city of Maastricht lie buried 8,301 American soldiers who died in "Operation Market Garden" in the battles to liberate the Netherlands in the fall and winter of 1944–5. Everyone of the men buried in the cemetery, as well as those in the Canadian and British military cemeteries has been adopted by a Dutch family who tend the grave and keep alive the memory of the soldier they have adopted. It is the custom to keep a portrait of "their" foreign soldier in a place of honour in their home. Annually on "Liberation Day", Memorial Services are held for the men who died to liberate the Netherlands. The day concludes with a concert, at which "Il Silenzio" has always been the concluding piece.

In 2008 the soloist was a 13-year-old Dutch girl, Melissa Venema, backed by André Rieu and the Royal Orchestra of the Netherlands.^[4]

The song is the official club hymn of the Slovakian football club FC Spartak Trnava.^[5] 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.^[6]

The song is played during the funeral scene and credits of Clint Eastwood's 2015 movie, American Sniper (though credited as "'The Funeral' written and performed by Ennio Morricone").

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,^[7] and Melissa Venema.

Roy Etzel's version of the song was also popular in the US.

A Māori version, titled "The Bridge", was released by New Zealand entertainer Deane Waretini and topped the New Zealand singles charts in 1981.^[8]

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.^[9]

References