This edition was prepared by Alexander Reuter — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Haltet Wacht, WoO 61
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs
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Haltet Wacht, WoO 61 by Josef Rheinberger — Lyrics
Wächter auf den hohen Zinnen
seid auf euer Amt bedacht,
lauscht und hört mit scharfen Sinnen,
haltet Wacht, haltet Wacht!
Ruhm, den uns der Herr beschieden,
neidet uns der Feinde Macht,
trauet nicht dem faulen Frieden,
haltet Wacht, haltet Wacht!
Mit den Waffen an der Seite
lagre sich das Haus zur Nacht,
dass es fertig sei zum Streite:
haltet Wacht, haltet Wacht!
Droht Gefahr des Reiches Grenzen,
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About Haltet Wacht, WoO 61
Josef Rheinberger's Haltet Wacht, WoO 61 is a secular male-voice partsong in German for TTBB choir. The text urges vigilance, comparing the watchmen on high battlements to soldiers guarding their homeland's honour and might. It speaks of the enemy's envious power and warns against a false peace, calling for readiness to fight. The composer evokes a sense of national pride and a collective call to arms, where the entire populace must rally to defend the nation's borders and glory. The urgent, repeated refrain 'haltet Wacht' – 'keep watch' – underscores the text's theme of constant alertness and defence.
