The songs on this record cover an entire century of Neapolitan melodies and two important historical periods in its evolution.
The first, in the nineteenth century, saw the coming together of the folk tradition and the tipically melodramatic style of singing. This is the period in which composers such as Mercadante, Donizetti and Rossini all make use of Neapolitan style and forms.
Another section of the Cd is dedicated to the repertoire drawn from the period between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. This was a golden age in the production of Neapolitan music. These are the years of Salvatore Di Giacomo and Francesco Paolo Tosti, two great scholars and interpreters of Neapolitan culture.
