Stehe still!

Sausendes, brausendes Rad der Zeit,
Messer du der Ewigkeit;
Leuchtende Sphären im weiten All,
Die ihr umringt den Weltenball;
Urewige Schöpfung, halte doch ein,
Genug des Werdens, laß mich sein!

Halte an dich, zeugende Kraft,
Urgedanke, der ewig schafft!
Hemmet den Atem, stillet den Drang,
Schweiget nur eine Sekunde lang!
Schwellende Pulse, fesselt den Schlag;
Ende, des Wollens ew'ger Tag!
Daß in selig süßem Vergessen
Ich mög alle Wonnen ermessen!

Wenn Aug' in Auge wonnig trinken,
Seele ganz in Seele versinken;
Wesen in Wesen sich wiederfindet,
Und alles Hoffens Ende sich kündet,
Die Lippe verstummt in staunendem Schweigen,
Keinen Wunsch mehr will das Innre zeugen:
Erkennt der Mensch des Ew'gen Spur,
Und löst dein Rätsel, heil'ge Natur!

Authorship

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828-1902) , title unknown

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner (1813-1883) , "Stehe still!", published 1862 [female voice and piano or orchestra], from Wesendonck-Lieder, no. 2, Mainz, Schott, also set in French

by (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner (1813-1883) , "Arrêtez-vous", published 1889 [female voice and piano], from Cinq Poèmes, no. 2, Mainz, Schott, also set in German

ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Be quiet!", copyright ©
ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Arrestati!", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Guy Laffaille) , "Reste tranquille !", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
CAT Catalan (Salvador Pila) , "Resta tranquil!", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Elena Danilova) , "Ostanovis'", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "Stå stille!", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Stå stille!", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Notes about green, red, and white dots

Gentle Reminder

This project, begun in 1995, receives no public funding. If you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated!      - Emily Ezust I also have a wishlist at Amazon.ca.

Browse imslp.org (Petrucci Music Library) for art songs or choral works

Classical Vocal Repertoire