A very close variation of IL silenzio by the Italian Nini Rosso is the BUGLE CALL, a.k.a. TAPS, universal among almost all the armed forces of the world...a sad and beautiful thing to hear. Melissa Venema, 13 years old at the time who has terrific breath power played this song on the trumpet in an Andre Rieu's concert performed early 2008 in the Amsterdam Arena, Netherlands. Listening and watching her is mesmerizing and the effect goes to my soul as if she were an angel.
To those who may argue that this song is strictly Il silenzio, I must redirect you to the first sentence above. I mentioned that Melissa is playing a VARIATION of IL silenzio - there are many versions of Il silenzio. This version is often thought of by many in the military as Taps; many have no idea Il silenzio exists. Taps was originally written by Brigadier Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general in July, 1862. I was in the military and taps was played at days end, and I can say with certainty that this version of Il silenzio is close enough to General Butterfields original Taps to stir the same emotions.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE VIEWING THE VIDEO BY COMMENTING - THANKS
<b>I am sorry, since this video has been blocked, I cannot bring to you what I wanted when she was 13 yo, but you may enter ‘Melissa Venema’ into your browser to check her out. You will leave this article, but I recommend that you return to read or add comments
Wow! My wife and I have been looking for this piece since we heard it on the radio one early morning 30 years ago. THANK YOU
ReplyDelete"the youn g girl" is Melissa Venema, I believe we should know this. Her website is Melissavenema,nl
ReplyDeleteShe isn't playing Taps, but Il Silenzio, which was composed in 1965 by Nini Rosso and Guglielmo Brezza.
ReplyDeleteTaps was composed in 1862 by Gen. Butterfield during the American Civil War.
There is absolutely no connection between the two pieces.
I have added a second paragraph to the article addressing the above comment by anonymous. I suspect he/she did not read the first paragraph well enough.
ReplyDeleteSomeone sent me an anonymous email message, which I have included here:
ReplyDeleteYour information about Il Silenzio that’s posted on musicouch is very misleading. I have played the trumpet my entire life. I have heard both Il Silenzio and TAPS. I have played TAPS at many a funeral during my US. NAVY career, and nothing stirs up the emotions quite like it. The only similarities amongst the 2 songs is the basic g, c, e, g jumps. While both songs are beautiful, PLEASE never confuse Nino Rosso\’s beautiful song with our own TAPS. Too many people will wonder why we don\’t play the full version of TAPS at funerals if they believe there is any relation.
Thank You,
PO2 David L
Now, I respect David’s comment and his opinion above, but I have to say he is wrong. I pulled this video from a military social network, where it is known by many as Taps. Taps is included as one of the military’s Bugle Calls. Bugle calls is a group of many songs. Probably the best known bugle call is Reveille. There are many people who have posted videos of Taps on the web. For example, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn_iz8z2AGw. Notice the available military songs to the right of the video. Scrolling through them you will see Melissa’s song, which is called “Girl Playing Taps.” This is the same video that I have presented here, but from a different source. The link to this one is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WRoWPhLU2Q&feature=related. Listen to both of these songs and you will hear how very similar they are. Yes, Melissa is playing a version of Il silenzio, but her version is similar and known by many as Taps. David mentions that he was in the military and therefore, he should know. I was also in the military – in fact I am a Vietnam War Veteran. He is right that these songs stir deep emotions, but, I am sorry, he is wrong that Melissa’s version of Il silenzio (Taps) and Brigadier Daniel Butterfield\’s Taps are not similar.
In regard to the posting of 12/9/2009 at 5:58PM. David didn't say they weren't similar. He said there is no relationship between the two pieces of work. Which is a true statement. They were written over 100 years apart and one is a classical music piece and the other a homage to the end of the day/or the laying to rest of the soul of a dead military personage.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, however, I am not sure why some are having trouble with what I am saying in my article. I stand on my response to David’s comment. I have clearly stated in my article and in comments that the original military Taps was written in 1862 by a Brigadier general and that Melissa played a version of Il silenzio at the age of 13 in 2008, of which sounds much like and accepted by many, including many in the military as a variation of the original Taps. I disagree that there is no relationship between the two. Granted, there is no relationship in terms of when they where written and their purposes, but there is an “association” between the two in that many hear both of them as Taps. An association between two things is considered a relationship. Look it up in the dictionary. I do not mind comments, so if you want to make a comment, please do so.
ReplyDeleteIl Silenzio as played by Melissa is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBecause it is beautiful and certainly stirs the emotion, would it be appropriate to play it (the version that Melissa plays) at a funeral, even non-military?
My vote would be, yes. I would think Melissa's version of Il Silenzio would be appropriate to be played at anyone's funeral, military or not, even though many hear it to be a version of Taps. However, I suppose it would depend on how strongly one associates her version to the original military Taps. Certainly, the original military Taps should only be played at the funerals of fallen military personnel.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful....... and she seems so effortless in using her instrument. It's as if she's merely breathing and this beautiful piece of music flows out. thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteWHO CARES WHAT IS WHAT. SHE WAS 13 AND NEVER HAVE I HEARD ANYTHING SO BEAUTIFUL. TAKE IT FOR FACE VALUE.
ReplyDeleteI am having a problem viewing the video. No matter what I click I can not get it up.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous above, I am so sorry you are having trouble viewing the video. Everything on this end seems to be okay. Try updating your Adobe Flash Player software. Please let me know if that corrects the problem.
ReplyDelete"Il Silenzio (Silence in English) is an Italian pop music instrumental piece, with a small part of spoken Italian lyrics, notable for its trumpet theme. It was written in 1965 by trumpet player Nini Rosso and Guglielmo Brezza, its thematic melody being an extension of the bugle military call for taps. It has become a worldwide instrumental standard, which has sold around 10 million copies. It was a number one hit in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and in Switzerland in 1965. It reached the position of Number 1 in Australia on 01/09/65 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."
ReplyDeleteRead again, "its thematic melody being an extension of the bugle military call for taps."
However, just because it sounds like "Taps" doesn't make "Il Silenzio" a version of "Taps". "Il Silenzio" BORROWS from "Taps". They are two completely different songs. No one would think of playing "Il Silenzio" at a military funeral. It is a love song, completely inappropriate as a substitute for "Taps". The fact that somebody once mistook "Il Silenzio" as a version of "Taps" and lumped them together in the same playlist doesn't make them related. No professional musician would make such a boneheaded error.
I would think less of Nini Rosso if he had actually used the melody of "Taps" in his song. If "Taps" was still under U.S. copyright protection, Rosso could have been sued. However, since he only borrowed a thematic element, he is no different from most other songwriters in this regard. Enjoy "Il Silenzio, but DON'T call is "Taps".
Dear anonymous of July 2, thank you for your comment and opinion. This article has received a lot of attention over time and the comments have actually turned into a thread of debate. Rather than repeating my opinions and knowledge about the song, I will defer to the comments themselves. I would also encourage you to check out my aticle at http://musicouch.com/musicouching/il-silenzio-and-bugle-call-a-k-a-taps/ and read the many comments about the song. Everything that I believe I need to say is in that thread. As always, please comment further if you desire. I always respect honest opinions.
ReplyDelete