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O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf, Herab, herab, vom Himmel lauf ! Reiß ab vom Himmel Tor und Tür, Reiß ab, wo Schloß und Riegel für ! O Gott, ein' Tau vom Himmel gieß; Im Tau herab, o Heiland, fließ. Ihr Wolken, brecht und regnet aus Den König über Jakobs Haus. O Erd', schlag aus, schlag aus, o Erd', Daß Berg und Tal grün alles werd' O Erd', herfür dies Blümlein bring, O Heiland, aus der Erden spring. Wo bleibst du, Trost der ganzen Welt, Darauf sie all' ihr' Hoffnung stellt ? O komm, ach komm vom höchsten Saal, Komm tröst uns hier im Jammertal. O klare Sonn', du schöner Stern, Dich wollten wir anschauen gern. O Sonn', geh auf, ohn' deinen Schein In Finsternis wir alle sein. Hie leiden wir die größte Not, Vor Augen steht der [bittre]1 Tod; Ach komm, führ uns mit starker Hand [Von]2 Elend zu dem Vaterland. Da wollen wir all' danken dir, Unserm Erlöser, für und für. Da wollen wir all' loben dich Je allzeit immer und ewiglich.3
J. Brahms sets stanzas 1-3, 6-7
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Schmidt: "ewig' " (as in the original)
2 Schmidt: "Vom" (as in the original)
3 Brahms adds "Amen."
The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld (1591 - 1635), "Adventslieder", subtitle: "Wie die Altväter in der Vorhölle nach dem Heiland gerufen und geseufzt haben"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf", op. 74 no. 2, stanzas 1-3,6-7 [chorus], from Zwei Motetten, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
- by Siegmund Schmidt (b. 1939), "O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf", copyright © 2012 [three-part women's chorus], motet [text verified 1 time]
- by Siegmund Schmidt (b. 1939), "O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf", 1992. [one or 2-part children's chorus, flute, positive organ] [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Kelly Dean Hansen) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Natalie Macfarren) , published 1879
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , title 1: "Oh Salvador, obre la volta celestial", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2006-01-05
Line count: 28
Word count: 174
O Heiland, open wijd de poort, Daal af, daal af uit ’t hemels oord! Verbreek des hemels hechtenis, Ontsluit wat afgegrendeld is. Laat dalen dauw op aarde, Heer, Daal in de dauw, o Heiland, neer. Gij wolken, breek en regen Hem, De koning van Jerusalem. Drijf knoppen uit, o aard, drijf uit, Tooi berg en dal met groenend kruid, Breng voort, o aard, dit bloempje klein, O Heiland, wil geboren zijn. Waar blijf je, Troost van ’t aards geslacht, Op wie men hoopt, op wie men wacht? O kom, ach kom uit ’t hoog heelal, Kom, troost ons hier in ’t tranendal. O klare zon, o mooie ster, Wij hunk’ren naar uw licht van ver. O zon, rijs op, want schijn jij niet, Is nacht ons deel, en diep verdriet. Hier lijden wij de grootste nood En zien voor ons de bitt’re dood; Ach kom, voer ons met sterke hand Uit rampspoed naar het vaderland. Dan zullen wij U danken Heer, Onze Verlosser, keer op keer, Wij zullen allen loven U, Voor altijd, in het eeuwig Nu. Amen
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: Deels origineel, deels ontleend aan bestaande Nederlandse versies van dit lied.Authorship:
- Singable translation from German (Deutsch) to Dutch (Nederlands) copyright © 2015 by Lau Kanen, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., please ask the copyright-holder(s) directly.
Lau Kanen.  Contact: boudewijnkanen (AT) gmail (DOT) com
If the copyright-holder(s) are unreachable for three business days, please write to:
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Not Applicable [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld (1591 - 1635), "Adventslieder", subtitle: "Wie die Altväter in der Vorhölle nach dem Heiland gerufen und geseufzt haben"
This text was added to the website: 2015-11-03
Line count: 28
Word count: 178