Among the many settings of Matthias Claudius' poetry which Schubert composed in the closing months of 1816, Phidile (D. 500) does not have the distinction of being the most moving (Am Grabe Anselmos has that privilege), the sweetest (that honor goes to An die Nachtigall) or the funniest (with several caveats, Klage um Ali Bey has that distinction).

But it is the most lewd: marked Unschuldig (Innocently), the title character is no more an innocent than Madonna. Indeed, Phidile is a sort of strophic seduction song in which the supposed object of the lover's affection is far less innocent that she pretends to be.

Schubert's song catches this with the coquettish elegance of its vocal melody and the faux-Mozart Classicism of its piano accompaniment. If not an achievement on the exalted level of Am Grabe Anselmos, Phidile is still a coy little charmer.

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