"Il Silenzio" ("The Silence") is an instrumental piece, with a small spoken Italian lyric, notable for its trumpet theme.
It was written in 1965 by trumpet player Nini Rosso, its thematic melody being an extension of the same Italian Cavalry bugle call used by 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-two position in Australia and stayed in the charts for 19 weeks, and in the United Kingdom it peaked at number eight on the Record Retailer singles chart. In the United States, it reached number 32 in the Billboard Easy Listening charts. In Canada, the song reached number 24 in the RPM Adult Contemporary charts.