"Dithyrambe" (Dithyramb) (D. 801, Op. 60/2) is not one of the Schubert songs which one would play when inviting the vicar to tea. As an invocation to Bacchus and the rest of the Greco-Roman gods to come and carouse, the earthly representative of a less robust god might feel more than a little uncomfortable singing along with drunken Jupiter and Cupid in the mood for love.

But Schubert seems right at home hymning the glory of the gods of wine and song in a rollicking setting of Schiller's "Dithyrambe." Originally a song of praise to Dionysus (Bacchus' name before he moved to Rome), Schiller's "Dithyrambe" bids old gods join him for debauchery and Schubert seems only to happy to join in with them. Setting Schiller's three verses strophically in dancing triple time to a rambunctious melody, Schubert's "Dithyrambe" would make a great song to sing-along with after a long evening with the bottle.

Interestingly, the piano ritornello between each verse is very close to the frolicsome finale of Schubert's "Little" A major Piano Sonata, D. 664. Whether this is merely a coincidence or perhaps a small clue as to the "meaning" of the A major Sonata is unknowable.

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