O Welt, ich muß dich lassen,
ich fahr dahin mein Straßen
ins ewig Vaterland.
Mein' Geist will ich aufgeben,
dazu mein' Leib und Leben
legen in Gottes gnäd'ge Hand.

Mein Zeit ist nun vollendet,
Der Tod das Leben schändet,
Sterben ist mein Gewinn;
Kein Bleiben ist auf Erden;
Das Ewig muß mir werden,
Mit Fried und Freud fahr ich dahin.

O World, I must leave you,
I travel from here along my way
to the everlasting fatherland.
I will give up my spirit
so that my body and life
lie in God’s merciful hand

My time is now completed,
death ends my life,
to die is to my advantage,
there is no staying on earth,
I must gain eternity,
with peace and joy I travel hence.

This window can be considered the “memorial” window: it is the first one that Chagall designed, for the main window of the church, in testimony of Sarah d’Avigdor Goldsmid’s life and death, and the comforting hope for an after-life.

On the bottom left, Sarah is lying in the sea – she died in a sailing accident. To the left is her mother holding her two daughters.

The presence of the red horse is a symbol of joy for Marc Chagall. For this window, he insisted on the fact that he chose to represent a loving Christ, and not a figure of suffering.

The chorale, “O Welt, ich muss dich lassen”, which is attributed to Johannes Hesse, is a religious adaptation of a traditional Austrian folk song, “Innsbruck, ich muß dich laßen”. Johannes Brahms composed his Eleven Chorale Preludes opus 122 for the organ in 1896 at the very end of his life. This particular chorale has two musical settings by Brahms, both in F Major. Number 11, the last chorale of the set, is thought to have been composed in June 1896, in the month following the death of Clara Schumann – Brahms dearest friend. It is a serene prayer about the end of life.