Brooklyn Duo - The Sound of Silence (Cello & Piano)

We absolutely love this song! The melody, harmonies, and lyrics are so infectious. When Disturbed covered it a few years ago, they reimagined Simon and Garfunkel's song into something haunting, yet still beautiful. We took cues from both versions when arranging this one and had so much fun working on it. We hope you enjoy - it's one of our favourites!

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Brooklyn Duo:
Marnie Laird, piano
Patrick Laird, cello

Lyrics:

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

Fools, said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence

/////////////////////

Brooklyn Duo Bio:

Founded in 2014, Brooklyn Duo has quickly established itself as one of today’s most successful classical crossover ensembles. Through its creative arrangements and live video performances, the piano and cello duo has garnered a huge following, with over 500,000 YouTube subscribers, and over 150 million streams annually on platforms such as Spotify and Pandora Radio.

On a whim, the couple arranged and recorded two pop covers and released them on YouTube. Shakira noticed the duo’s cover of her song Empire and promoted it to her 130 million-plus fan base, saying: “We're loving Brooklyn Duo's piano/cello cover of Empire! Great work guys." The boost that resulted from that exposure and the positive response they were getting on YouTube encouraged the couple to continue creating videos.

Since then, Marnie and Patrick have released over 70 videos on their Brooklyn Duo YouTube channel and 7 albums of covers, spanning artists from The Beatles to Metallica to Taylor Swift (who also tweeted about them, saying their cover of her song “Blank Space” sounded "like a song people should walk down the aisle to"). In 2016, the couple started a second YouTube channel, Brooklyn Classical, with the goal of introducing classical music to a larger audience. With this new channel, Marnie and Patrick aim to showcase high quality, live performances of classical music. Brooklyn Classical often hosts high-profile guest artists, including the world-renowned Dover and Escher string quartets and percussionist Ivan Trevino.

In 2017, Marnie and Patrick partnered with Carnegie Hall and Ensemble Connect, a collective of some of the best young musicians in the U.S., to produce a cover of a-ha’s “Take On Me”. The video went viral and garnered millions of views in just a few months. Popular classical music stations Classic FM and WQXR regularly share Brooklyn Duo’s music on their social media pages, with Classic FM calling the duo “masters of the artfully planned pop cover.” One of their covers was also recently featured in an episode of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.

#BrooklynDuo

[BrooklynDuo]

We absolutely love this song! The melody, harmonies, and lyrics are so infectious, thanks to Simon & Garfunkel. And when Disturbed covered it a few years ago, they reimagined it into something so haunting yet still beautiful. We took cues from both versions when arranging this one, and we had so much fun working on it. We hope you enjoy - it's one of our favourites!

[ms.tastefulcooking]

This was played during my brothers funeral. He was left lifeless after a small 30 min procedure, he battled cancer for 5 years… he beat cancer. He was in remission and had to take out a catheter they had in place in his head for the chemo treatment. He never made out. We had to say goodbye and this song you had remastered it it was one of his favorite bands. So we decided to play this during his funeral. It was HIM. Miss you my big brother! Never ever will it get any easy.

[leriadraven]

My grandfather is on hospice and I have been put in charge of music for his funeral. I've been listening to a bunch of a sound of silence songs as he was in law enforcement, and each one brought up too much emotion. I wanted one that we could all handle yet be touching for him. This is perfect. It's beautiful and without the words it's not as heartbreaking. Thank you so much for doing this and thank you so much for putting it on itunes so I can get it.

[shazneentabassum]

It's 1 a.m. in the morning, I'm in a dark room listening to this beautiful rendition of one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs ever made. It's raining quite hard outside and the lightning and thunder is setting the perfect atmosphere for this. Such a perfect moment. Thank you for this breathtaking cover ❤

[Michael-Ray]

The sound of that cello resonates deep within your soul.

[wilfredhebronmoses]

Another example of why the cello is my favourite instrument. Apart from being the instrument which closely mimics a human voice, the huge pitch range. He played on three octaves. Loved the low register

[godot]

People talking without speaking..
People hearing without listening..
Simon and Garfunkel are legends.
And so are you guys..😊

[judywduke]

Never before have I heard a cello sing a song the way you do ! Out of this world Glorious.

[MusicforMe]

This is absolutely breathtaking, I am listening 3AM of this rendition and it brings tears to my eyes. It just brought out all the inner emotions of almost a year of isolation due to the pandemic. The feelings of love, sadness, and uncertainty in our lives. Yet as I continue to listen, I find comfort in knowing that everything will be alright. You have no idea the gift that you have, thank you for sharing!

[gaylesharp]

It’s almost as if the piano and cello are singing the words. How absolutely beautiful!

[atgoldsmith]

I've never liked something so quickly... The bass hits you right in the soul!

[guyfawkes]

My sweet wife and I watched the French figure skaters dance to the Disturbed version of this the year she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I'm three + years widowed, and this absolutely brings tears to my eyes.

[detleffranzke]

Time passes and this song remains current.
A classic is a classic.
Congratulations on the flawless presentation.

[havingfun]

If this doesn't stop you in your tracks and bring you to pause, even tears, then you have NO SOUL or HEART. I personally NEVER cry at anything, seen death everywhere, being a combat Marine of 5 tours, and Desert Storm as well, and I'm just that hardened. Didn't even cry at my parents funeral. But tonight, I've actually wept in tears listening to this beautiful composition by those two wonderful human beings. So if you did this to me, what you must do to the normal human being. Many blessings to you both, and THANK YOU for this beautiful sound. If you are EVER in Las Vegas, dinner is on my family.

[kengami]

My son had a bad day, he felt down, the whole day was pretty crappy. He just could not get outside, it was pouring down, he did not want to take a badly needed nap, and yeah. it was just one of those days where, as a parent, you are at your wit's end. Then I made him sit down on my lap and showed him this. And when the Cello started playing he smiled. and he kept smiling throughout the whole song and fell asleep in my arms. Finally. After his nap, he was pretty happy and relaxed. Thank you for making him smile and never ever stop playing!

[parkedawn]

You made these instruments SING. Truly a delight a listen to over and over. 💜💜

[CarlaBartlett-gp]

The mastery of instruments and balance is so stellar. You both rock! I have been a classical aficionado for my 62 years here and the presence, integrity and feeling of this piece is staggering.

[rubengarcia]

I could close my eyes and let my spirit float into heaven!

[xRadsHehex]

My god, I closed my eyes instantly to the deep depths of the cello - this was absolutely beautiful and pure. In the silence, this music is so peaceful and powerful 💚

[hvw]

I love how emotional you two gets when you play, really makes the video worth watching.