Tu ca nun chiagne

Tu ca nun chiagne dates from 1915, with music by Ernesto De Curtis to a Neapolitan text by Libero Bovio, and was written for the Piedigrotta song contest in Naples. Bovio's words address someone who does not weep — a reproach turned into a serenade — and the setting keeps the vocal line low and even before opening out in the refrain. It has stayed in the Neapolitan repertoire without acquiring the tourist associations of Torna a Surriento, and is sung by baritones about as often as by tenors.