The "Two Neapolitan Themes" seen in the title refer to the famous Neapolitan folk songs Fenesta vascia (The Lower Window) and La festa di Piedigrotta (The Piedigrotta Festival). The former is still widely sung today. Folk songs of this kind were favored by virtuosos of the time as material for variations; prior to Ravina, Alkan used the melody of Fenesta vascia in his Fantaisie sur une barcarolle napolitaine (published 1834), and Liszt in his Venezia e Napoli (initial version composed 1840). Ravina's piece consists of sections accompanied by the "Neapolitan Themes" and several freely composed sections that follow the meter and motifs of the themes. The treatment of brilliant and rapid passages moving over clear harmonies is closer to that of his senior at the conservatory,  H. Herz, rather than being Ravina's unique style.