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